Antarctic

[ant-ahrk-tik, -ahr-tik]

adjective

1. Sometimes antarctic of, at, or near the South Pole.

noun

1. the Antarctic, the continent of Antarctica along with the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic

/ æntˈɑːktɪk /

noun

1. Antarctica and the surrounding waters

adjective

1. of or relating to the south polar regions

Antarctic

1. The region around the South Pole, Antarctica, and the surrounding ocean.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Antarctic¹

First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin antarcticus, from Greek antarktikós; replacing Middle English antartik or directly from Middle French, from Medieval Latin antarticus; ant-, Arctic

Word History and Origins

Origin of Antarctic¹

C14: via Latin from Greek antarktikos; see _anti- , _arctic

Example Sentences

This four-stage pattern of structural decline may be a signal for other Antarctic ice shelves that appear to be entering similar phases of weakness.

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Mosses are well known for surviving in places that challenge most life, including the Himalayan peaks, the scorching deserts of Death Valley, the Antarctic tundra, and the cooling surfaces of active volcanoes.

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Two years earlier the ships had returned to England after successfully transporting explorer James Clark Ross and his men to and from the Antarctic.

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A glacier on the Eastern Antarctic Peninsula has undergone the quickest ice loss documented in modern times, according to a major international study co-authored by Swansea University.

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"It paints a pretty stark and harrowing picture," Connor Bamford, a marine ecologist at the British Antarctic Survey and lead author of the study, told AFP.

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Related Words

• chilly 
• freezing 
• frosty 
• frozen 
• glacial 
• ice-cold 
• icy 
• wintry