elliptical

American  

[ih-lip-ti-kuhl] / ɪˈlɪp tɪ kəl /

adjective

1. pertaining to or having the form of an ellipse.

2. pertaining to or marked by grammatical ellipsis.

3. (of speech or writing) expressed with extreme or excessive economy; relieved of irrelevant matter.

   to converse in elliptical sentences.

4. (of a style of speaking or writing) tending to be ambiguous, cryptic, or obscure.

   an elliptical prose that is difficult to translate.

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noun

• ellipticals
  plural

1. Astronomy. elliptical galaxy.

elliptical British  

/ ɪˈlɪptɪkəl /

adjective

1. relating to or having the shape of an ellipse

2. relating to or resulting from ellipsis

3. 1. very condensed or concise, often so as to be obscure or ambiguous

   2. circumlocutory or long-winded

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Usage

The use of elliptical to mean circumlocutory should be avoided as it may be interpreted wrongly as meaning condensed or concise

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ellipticalness
  noun
• nonelliptic
  adjective
• nonelliptical
  adjective
• overelliptical
  adjective
• subelliptic
  adjective
• subelliptical
  adjective
• unelliptical
  adjective
• elliptically
  adverb
• nonelliptically
  adverb
• overelliptically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ellipticals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of elliptical

1650–60; < Greek elleiptik ( ós ) defective ( see ellipsis, -tic) + -al ¹

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Explanation

The word elliptical is derived from the oval shape known as an ellipse. Many comets have an elliptical orbit around the Sun that brings them closer at some times and farther away at others. The adjective elliptical refers to the shape of an ellipse, which is an elongated circle, stretched into an oval. This word can also be used to describe a way of speaking that cuts out extra, unnecessary language. When writers use an elliptical style, it sometimes makes the work obscure and hard to interpret.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

elliptical ellipticals

But Raman’s answers never meandered and weren’t too elliptical, even when she was pressed by the able moderators.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

In a typical binary system, two stars with slightly different masses circle each other along elongated, or elliptical, paths.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026

This elliptical approach is in part its strength, subtly illuminating how trying to move past one tragedy may bring a family to the precipice of another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

Lynne Ramsay’s film is an elliptical, claustrophobic portrait of postpartum delirium.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025

Kepler found something different for elliptical orbits: As the planet moves along its orbit, it sweeps out a little wedge-shaped area within the ellipse.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

"Our simulation reveals the intimate details of the formation of galaxies such as the transformation of spirals into ellipticals through galaxy mergers."

From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2023

Both types of galaxies are also found in the Local Supercluster, but while the Supergalactic Plane is teeming with bright ellipticals, bright disk galaxies are conspicuously absent.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2023

These included Peloton bicycles and treadmills and iFit NordicTrack bicycles and ellipticals.

From Reuters ● Mar. 8, 2023

Treadmills and ellipticals feature calorie counts as prominently as they do distance “traveled.”

From Slate ● Jan. 1, 2023

Galactic collisions distort the shape of an originally spherical cluster and may also contribute to the genesis of spirals and irregulars from ellipticals.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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