Fixative vs. Mordant — What's the Difference?

A liquid preservative applied to artwork, such as watercolor paintings or charcoal drawings.

A mordant or dye fixative is a substance used to set (i.e. bind) dyes on fabrics by forming a coordination complex with the dye, which then attaches to the fabric (or tissue).

A solution used to preserve and harden fresh tissue for microscopic examination.

Bitingly sarcastic

A liquid mixed with perfume to prevent rapid evaporation.

Incisive and trenchant

A substance that fixes, protects, or preserves.

Bitingly painful.

(perfumery) The components of a perfume that prolong or bolster the notes, and may or may not be the base note itself.

Serving to fix colors in dyeing.

Serving to fix or bind.

A reagent, such as tannic acid, that fixes dyes to cells, tissues, or textiles or other materials.

That which serves to set or fix colors or drawings, as a mordant.

A corrosive substance, such as an acid, used in etching.

A compound (such as ethanol or formaldehyde) that fixes tissues and cells for microscopic study

To treat with a mordant.

A varnish dissolved in alcohol and sprayed over pictures to prevent smudging

Having or showing a sharp or critical quality

Serving to fix a dye to a fibre.

Any substance used to facilitate the fixing of a dye to a fibre; usually a metallic compound which reacts with the dye using chelation.

Any corrosive substance used in etching.

A glutinous size used as a ground for gilding, to make the gold leaf adhere.

(transitive) To subject to the action of, or imbue with, a mordant.

Biting; caustic; sarcastic; keen; severe.

Serving to fix colors.

Any corroding substance used in etching.

Any substance, as alum or copperas, which, having a twofold attraction for organic fibers and coloring matter, serves as a bond of union, and thus gives fixity to, or bites in, the dyes.

Any sticky matter by which the gold leaf is made to adhere.

To subject to the action of, or imbue with, a mordant; as, to mordant goods for dyeing.

A substance used to treat leather or other materials before dyeing; aids in dyeing process

Harshly ironic or sinister;