The word "涣然" is formed by combining the character "涣", a phonetic-semantic compound with the water radical (氵) implying dissolution and the component "奂" providing pronunciation, with "然", a character historically associated with burning but used here as an adverbial suffix meaning "in such a manner". Together, they create an adverb literally meaning "in a dissolving manner", which conveys the sense of something being completely resolved or dispelled, as in the idiom "涣然冰释".