dysprosium

noun

dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm How to pronounce dysprosium (audio)
-zh(ē-)əm
: an element of the rare-earth group that forms highly magnetic compounds see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of dysprosium in a Sentence

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Namibia, Nigeria, and Tanzania all have large deposits of cobalt, lithium, rhodium, and dysprosium. — Eghosa E. Osaghae, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2026 The expansion, leveraging Australian monazite, will deliver key heavy rare earths like terbium and dysprosium by late 2027, while also producing uranium. — David Blackmon, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Energy Fuels has now started construction on an expansion that will add commercial production of heavy rare earth oxides, including terbium and dysprosium, by the end of 2027. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026 Even with the exemption, Chinese export volumes for unpronounceable but irreplaceable things like yttrium and dysprosium are still way down, and prices are way up. — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 14 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for dysprosium

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Greek dysprósitos "difficult to access" (from dys- dys- + prósitos "approachable," verbal adjective of próseimi, prosiénai "to go toward, approach," from pros- pros- + eîmi, iénai "to go") + New Latin -ium -ium — more at issue entry 1

Note: The element was named by the first person to isolate it, the French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912), reported in "Le holmine (ou terre X de M. Soret) contient au moins deux radicaux métalliques," Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des Sciences, tome 102 (janvier-juin 1886), pp. 1003-04. The name was apparently given because several hundred fractionations ("plusieurs centaines de fractionnements") were required to isolate a sufficient amount of it to test spectroscopically.

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dysprosium was in 1886

Rhymes for dysprosium

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Browse Nearby Words

dyspnoea
dysprosium
dysrhythmia
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Cite this Entry

“Dysprosium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dysprosium. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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Kids Definition

dysprosium

noun
dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm How to pronounce dysprosium (audio)
-zh(ē-)əm
: a chemical element that forms very magnetic compounds see element

Medical Definition

dysprosium

noun
dys·​pro·​si·​um dis-ˈprō-zē-əm How to pronounce dysprosium (audio) -zh(ē-)əm How to pronounce dysprosium (audio)
: an element of the rare-earth group that forms highly magnetic compounds
—symbol Dy see Chemical Elements Table

More from Merriam-Webster on dysprosium

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dysprosium

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