pyroclastic
made of hot volcanic fragments
Roots
Other words with the clast root
- clast: something that breaks or is broken
- clastic: made of fragments or relating to breaking
- iconoclast: breaker of images or cherished beliefs
- iconoclastic: attacking cherished beliefs or institutions
Other words with the pyro root
- pyromania: compulsion or obsession with setting fires
- pyrotechnics: fireworks or the craft of controlled fire displays
Pyro gives fire and clast gives broken pieces. Pyroclastic material is fiery rock broken into fragments.
A pyroclastic flow buried the town under hot volcanic ash and fragments.
Pyroclastic is a beautiful multi-root word. Pyro gives fire; clast gives broken pieces. Together they point to volcanic fragments, often dangerously hot and fast-moving.
This is the kind of technical word that becomes less scary when the pieces are visible.