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Synonyms

appulse

American  
[uh-puhls] / əˈpʌls /

noun

  1. energetic motion toward a point.

  2. the act of striking against something.

  3. Astronomy. the approach or occurrence of conjunction between two celestial bodies.


appulse British  
/ əˈpʌls /

noun

  1. a very close approach of two celestial bodies so that they are in conjunction but no eclipse or occultation occurs

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of appulse

1620–30; < Latin appulsus driven to, landed (past participle of appellere ), equivalent to ap- ap- 1 + pul- (variant stem of pellere to drive, push) + -sus, variant of -tus past participle suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There had been a total solar eclipse, new comets, unusual sunspots and the only perfect lunar appulse in four centuries.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was an appulse of the moon, visible in most of North America and parts of Europe.

From Time Magazine Archive

I felt the faint appulse of his, And leapt into the light!

From The Devil's Dictionary by Bierce, Ambrose

The appulse or near approach is but one of the methods by which the spiral nebul� may have come into existence.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck

The near approach of one heavenly body to another, or to the meridian; a coming into conjunction; as, the appulse of the moon to a star, or of a star to the meridian.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

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