Definition

Not rotating or involving rotation; free from any circular motion.

Example

The flow of the fluid is irrotational, meaning it does not have any swirling motion.

Conversation

I was reading about fluid dynamics, and they mentioned irrotational flows.

Oh, really? What does that mean exactly?

It means the fluid is moving without any rotation or vortices.

That sounds interesting! I never thought about fluids in that way.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Irrotational → It is formed from "in-" (meaning not) and "rotare" (meaning to rotate) and "-ional" (a suffix forming adjectives). The word describes a state or condition where there is no rotation or swirling motion.

Memory Tip

Think of 'not rotating' ('in-' means not and 'rotare' means to rotate) to remember that 'irrotational' refers to something that does not involve rotation.

Visually Confused Words