hermetic
Impervious to air
Hermetic means airtight or completely sealed: a hermetic seal, hermetically sealed containers.
The word extends to anything impervious to outside influence—a hermetic argument admits no counterexamples, a hermetic community resists external ideas.
The term derives from Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary founder of alchemy, whose followers sought to seal vessels against contamination.
In philosophy and art, hermetic describes work that is deliberately obscure or accessible only to initiates.
Impervious to atmosphere
- vacuumAbsence of matter
- watertightPrevents liquid from passing
- impermeableCannot be penetrated
- gasketMechanical leak preventer
sealant · caulk · encapsulated · weatherproof · leakproof · soldered · laminated · bonded
Concealed from view
- arcaneUnderstood by few
- kabbalahJewish mystical tradition
- gnosticismPrivileging inner revelation
- theosophyMystical divine knowledge system
mysticism · cryptic · abstruse · recondite · initiatory · secret doctrine · hidden knowledge · adept
Complete change of form
- philosopher's stoneLegendary substance enabling transmutation
- elixirMythical healing draught
- magnum opusCreator's supreme achievement
- quintessencePurest embodiment of something
calcination · sublimation · distillation · coagulation · nigredo · albedo · tincture · caduceus
Separated from others
- secludedSet apart, private
- cloisteredSheltered from outside contact
- withdrawnEmotionally distant, disengaged
- solitaryExisting alone, apart
insular · sequestered · closed-off · inaccessible · private · exclusive · self-contained · detached
Enclosed without air
- canningAirtight food preservation
- jarringDisturbingly incongruous
- mummificationPreserving bodies after death
- embalmingPreserving dead bodies chemically
freeze-drying · dehydration · archival · climate-controlled · specimen · time capsule · protected · conserved
airtight
Impervious to atmosphere
- vacuumAbsence of matter
- watertightPrevents liquid from passing
- impermeableCannot be penetrated
gasket · sealant · caulk · encapsulated · weatherproof · leakproof · soldered · laminated · bonded · welded
occult
Concealed from view
- arcaneUnderstood by few
- kabbalahJewish mystical tradition
- gnosticismPrivileging inner revelation
theosophy · mysticism · cryptic · abstruse · recondite · initiatory · secret doctrine · hidden knowledge · adept · neophyte
transmutation
Complete change of form
- philosopher's stoneLegendary substance enabling transmutation
- elixirMythical healing draught
- magnum opusCreator's supreme achievement
quintessence · calcination · sublimation · distillation · coagulation · nigredo · albedo · tincture · caduceus
isolated
Separated from others
- secludedSet apart, private
- cloisteredSheltered from outside contact
- withdrawnEmotionally distant, disengaged
solitary · insular · sequestered · closed-off · inaccessible · private · exclusive · self-contained · detached · remote
vacuum-sealed
Enclosed without air
- canningAirtight food preservation
- jarringDisturbingly incongruous
- mummificationPreserving bodies after death
embalming · freeze-drying · dehydration · archival · climate-controlled · specimen · time capsule · protected · conserved
- mysteriousmysterious, cryptic, enigmatic, arcane, obscure
- self-containedstandalone, independent, modular, complete, autonomous
- occultwitchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, black magic, tarot
- leak preventionwatertight, waterproof, caulk, airtight, caulking
- Storage Conditionsrefrigerated, frozen, chilled, room temperature, temperature controlled
- oxygen-freevacuum, anaerobic, purged, anoxic, inert gas
hermeticclear
Without obstruction or fog
transparent · lucid · intelligible · comprehensible · plain
hermeticopen
Not closed
inclusive · welcoming · accessible · cosmopolitan · outward-looking
- hermetically sealedCompletely impervious to air
- hermetic sealImpervious joint or closure
- hermetic sealingImpermeable containment method
- hermetically sealClose off completely