adj. 1. having capacity or tendency to adsorb or cause to accumulate on a surface; displaying adsorption. [ Narrower terms: chemisorptive, chemosorptive ] nonadsorbent Syn. -- adsorbent, surface-assimilative [ WordNet 1.5 ]
adj. lacking capacity to adsorb or cause to accumulate on a surface. Opposite of adsorbent. [ WordNet 1.5 ]