volcanic

[ vol-kan-ik ]

adjective

1. of or relating to a volcano:

   a volcanic eruption.

2. discharged from or produced by volcanoes:

   volcanic mud.

3. characterized by the presence of volcanoes:

   a volcanic area.

4. suggestive of or resembling a volcano; potentially explosive; volatile:

   a volcanic temper.

volcanic

/ vɒlˈkænɪk; ˌvɒlkəˈnɪsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, produced by, or characterized by the presence of volcanoes

   a volcanic region

2. suggestive of or resembling an erupting volcano

   a volcanic era

3. See extrusive
   another word for extrusive

Derived Forms

• volcanicity, noun
• volˈcanically, adverb

Other Words From

• vol·cani·cal·ly adverb
• vol·can·ic·i·ty [vol-k, uh, -, nis, -i-tee], noun
• nonvol·canic adjective
• semi·vol·canic adjective
• semi·vol·cani·cal·ly adverb
• unvol·canic adjective
• unvol·cani·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of volcanic¹

1765–75; volcan(o) + -ic; compare French volcanique

Example Sentences

The lack of evidence for any lava has led scientists to assume that its volcanic activity expired long ago.

From Quanta Magazine

Iceland’s Kötlujökull glacier sits atop the Katla volcano, where a type of volcanic rock called basalt is abundant.

From Popular-Science

It also may represent a new class of volcanic-scale “pyrocumulonimbus” events, scientists said in an online news conference December 11 at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting.

From Science News

The orange zones show shallow volcanic areas apparently connected below the surface in a roughly circular pattern.

From Science News

This results in volcanic activity focused mainly at the plate boundaries.

From Singularity Hub 

And yet his music, to the end, although sometimes almost eerily serene, remained most often volcanic.

From The Daily Beast

This hidden Eden continues to baffle geologists with its oculus of volcanic stone.

From The Daily Beast

But behold, DiCaprio, whose volcanic growth of furze is surely proof that the vogue for beards needs to be trimmed back.

From The Daily Beast

Miles beneath the surface, in the absence of sunlight, animals derive energy from volcanic vents.

From The Daily Beast

The largest of an archipelago of islands, Santorini is the vestige of a single volcanic landmass that erupted around 1600 BC.

From The Daily Beast

The volcanic eruptions of the mountains on the west broke down its barriers, and let its waters flow.

From Project Gutenberg

But scorn is far more volcanic than glacial and a poor barrier between sex and judgment.

From Project Gutenberg

Formosa, a large island in the Chinese sea, almost wholly inundated by volcanic agency, during a storm.

From Project Gutenberg

It was probably at this volcanic ridge that the precipitous road obliged the mules to be sent back.

From Project Gutenberg

It is divided throughout its whole extent by a chain of mountains, which in general owe their formation to volcanic eruptions.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• demonstrative
• fidgety
• fiery
• high-strung
• hysterical
• impulsive
• restless
• skittish
• temperamental