anticline

American  

[an-ti-klahyn] / ˈæn tɪˌklaɪn /

noun

Geology.

1. an anticlinal rock structure.

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anticline British  

/ ˈæntɪˌklaɪn /

noun

1. a formation of stratified rock raised up, by folding, into a broad arch so that the strata slope down on both sides from a common crest Compare syncline

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anticline Scientific  

/ ăn′tĭ-klīn′ /

1. A fold of rock layers that slope downward on both sides of a common crest. Anticlines form when rocks are compressed by plate-tectonic forces. They can be as small as a hill or as large as a mountain range.

2. Compare syncline

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Etymology

Origin of anticline

First recorded in 1860–65; back formation from anticlinal

Compare meaning

How does anticline compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• anticline vs. syncline

Example Sentences

The harsh, high-desert anticline is almost as big as Delaware and home to such wildness and alien-looking geology that the Mars Society has built a Mars Desert Research Station there.

From Washington Post • Sep. 16, 2022

Not surprisingly, the long anticline of Simon’s post-“Graceland” career is the dullest part of the book.

From Washington Post • Oct. 27, 2016

An anticline or syncline is described as symmetrical if the angles between each of limb and the axial plane are generally similar, and asymmetrical if they are not.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

You’re looking at an anticline, actually, when you view Rosario Head.

From Scientific American • Mar. 7, 2012

The strata with the Pine Raft form the lowest visible part of the anticline.

From The Geological Story of the Isle of Wight by Hughes, J. Cecil