vortex

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈvɔɹtɛks/ See IPA manual

Freq #13639

Meanings

1

noun
A whirling mass of water, air, or other fluid that pulls things toward its centre.

The water spun into a vortex as it drained from the bath.
2

noun
A situation of constant, chaotic activity that draws people in.

She was swept into the vortex of city life and rarely had a quiet moment.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a whirling mass of water,... whirlpool whirlwind

Word family

Forms vortexesvorticesvorticose

Derived forms antivortexintervortexmesovortexnanovortexnonvortexuveovortexvortexationvortexervortexlike

Related forms eddy maelstromvorticalvorticity

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

vortex vein
one of the veins that drain blood from the vascular layer at the back of the eye

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Vortex entered English in the mid-17th century. It comes from the Latin word for “eddy” and is closely related to Latin vertere, meaning “to turn.”

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vortex. Doublet of vertex.

vortex Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# vortex

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈvɔɹtɛks/
**Frequency rank:** 13639

## Meanings
1. A whirling mass of water, air, or other fluid that pulls things toward its centre.
2. A situation of constant, chaotic activity that draws people in.

## Examples
- The water spun into a vortex as it drained from the bath.
- She was swept into the vortex of city life and rarely had a quiet moment.

## Derived Forms
- antivortex
- intervortex
- mesovortex
- nanovortex
- nonvortex
- uveovortex
- vortexation
- vortexer
- vortexlike

## Related Forms
- eddy
- maelstrom
- vortical
- vorticity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vortex

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin vortex. Doublet of vertex.

## AI Etymology
Vortex is a learned borrowing from Latin vortex. Doublet of vertex. Important recorded forms include vortex (Latin). Current senses include a whirling mass of water, air, or other fluid that pulls things toward its centre and a situation of constant, chaotic activity that draws people in. The wider family includes derived forms such as antivortex, intervortex, mesovortex, nanovortex, and nonvortex and related words such as eddy, maelstrom, vortical, and vorticity.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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