amalgam
amalgam — noun
1. a unified whole formed when different elements, ideas, or influences are combine
a unified whole formed when different elements, ideas, or influences are combined
The Mombasa street festival was a vibrant amalgam of jazz, folk music, and traditional African drumming.
vibrant amalgam of + [list of elements] to describe a creative or cultural blend
Folake's new novel is a strange amalgam of detective story and family drama.
Hanoi's Old Quarter is an amalgam of French colonial balconies and sleek modern glass offices.
Bao described his cooking as an amalgam of Vietnamese and French techniques.
Shanti's personality was a curious amalgam of kindness, sharp wit, and deep insecurity.
- mixture
more everyday; implies the parts remain more distinct and recognisable
- blend
suggests a smooth, harmonious mixing — often of flavours, colours, or sounds
- fusion
implies a more thorough merging where original boundaries disappear
- combination
neutral term; does not carry the same literary or formal tone as amalgam
用法筆記
Often used in formal or literary writing to describe cultural, artistic, or personal blends. Almost always followed by 'of': an amalgam of styles, ideas, or influences.
常見錯誤
2. a soft, silver-coloured substance that dentists press into damaged teeth to fill
a soft, silver-coloured substance that dentists press into damaged teeth to fill them, made by mixing mercury with copper, tin, and silver powder
The dentist took out João's old amalgam filling and replaced it with a white composite one.
amalgam filling as a compound noun in dental contexts
Keiko's dentist chose amalgam for her back tooth, explaining it would stay strong for more than twenty years.
Anna felt nervous as the dentist packed the soft amalgam into her cavity.
Noor asked whether the dark amalgam fillings posed any long-term health risk.
The Harbour View clinic stopped using amalgam last year and now fills every cavity with tooth-coloured resin.
- filling
more general — can be made of any material (composite, gold, ceramic), not just amalgam
- dental alloy
technical term used by dental professionals
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 3: this refers specifically to dental filling material, not to mercury alloys in general. Frequently used in the compound noun 'amalgam filling'.
3. a metallic substance made by mixing mercury with another metal (such as silver,
a metallic substance made by mixing mercury with another metal (such as silver, gold, or tin)
Beatriz watched the chemist mix mercury and silver powder into a soft amalgam.
At the museum, an eighteenth-century mirror still held its original tin amalgam layer behind the glass.
tin amalgam as a compound noun naming the specific alloy
In 1850s California, miners poured mercury over river sand to form an amalgam that captured gold dust.
Amara sealed the leftover amalgam in a glass jar, knowing mercury vapour from it could be dangerous.
Dr. Okafor's mercury formed an amalgam with gold leaf but left the iron nail untouched.