precipitation

Water from clouds

Precipitation is water falling from the sky—rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

The word also describes hasty action without adequate thought: The precipitation of his departure surprised everyone.

In chemistry, precipitation is the process by which a solid separates from a solution.

The verb precipitate covers all these: weather precipitates from clouds, rash decisions are precipitated by panic, and solids precipitate from liquids.

rain

rainfall

Water falling from clouds

drizzle · monsoon · deluge · cloudburst · thunderstorm · torrent · rainstorm · sprinkle · mist · petrichor

snow

snowfall

Precipitation of frozen crystals

powder · whiteout · snowstorm · frost · sleet · snowpack · snowdrift · snowmelt · accumulation · snowplow

hail

hailstones

Frozen storm precipitation

sleet · frozen rain · thunderstorm · cumulonimbus · crop damage · dents · shelter · impact · ice storm · supercell

cycle

evaporation

Liquid turning to gas

sublimation · run-off · infiltration · groundwater · watershed · catchment · aquifer · streamflow · snowmelt · cloud formation

measurement

rain gauge

Precipitation measurement device

radar · doppler · forecast · weather station · annual rainfall · drought · monsoon season

Categories
Opposites
meteorological phenomenon

precipitationevaporation

Liquid turning to gas

dryness · drought · aridity · aridness · waterlessness

speed/manner of action

precipitationdeliberation

Careful weighing of choices

deliberateness · caution · prudence · circumspection · carefulness

chemical process

precipitationdissolution

Breaking up completely

dissolving · solvation · solubilization · liquefaction

Phrases
Family

precipitating, precipitations

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G