acicular

[ uh-sik-yuh-ler ]

adjective

1. shaped like a needle.
2. Metallurgy.
   1. (of cast iron) containing ferrite in a needlelike form.
   2. (of an alloy) having a microstructure of needlelike components.

Other Words From

• a·cic·u·lar·i·ty [uh, -sik-y, uh, -, lar, -i-tee], noun
• a·cicu·lar·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of acicular¹

First recorded in 1785–95; acicul(a) + -ar ¹

Example Sentences

Acicular, as-ik′ū-lar, adj. needle-shaped; slender and sharp-pointed.

From Project Gutenberg

Spores of Bacidia fuscorubella to illustrate the several-celled, hyaline, acicular type.

From Project Gutenberg

Not far from the shore, I noticed, in a little ravine, a group of eight acicular-leaved trees.

From Project Gutenberg

Hyoscyamine crystallizes in the acicular form, with greater difficulty even than atropine, it also forms less compact crystals.

From Project Gutenberg

The obelisk is from another of Nature's patterns; it is only a gigantic acicular crystal.

From Project Gutenberg