centrifugal

[sen-trif-yuh-guh l, -uh-guh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR centrifugal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

moving or directed outward from the center (opposed to centripetal).

pertaining to or operated by centrifugal force: a centrifugal pump.

Physiology. efferent.

noun

Machinery.

a machine for separating different materials by centrifugal force; a centrifuge.
a rotating, perforated drum holding the materials to be separated in such a machine.

Origin of centrifugal

1715–25; < New Latin centrifug(us) center-fleeing (centri- centri- + Latin -fugus, derivative of fugere to flee) + -al¹

Related formscen·trif·u·gal·ly, adverb

Can be confusedcentrifugal centripetal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for centrifugal

deviating, divergent, eccentric, outward, radial, spiral, diffusive, efferent

Examples from the Web for centrifugal

Contemporary Examples of centrifugal

War can be a centrifugal force, pulling together disparate groups who share a common enemy.
ISIS’s Secret Allies
Jacob Siegel
June 13, 2014

Historical Examples of centrifugal

My talent—if that's what you call it—was centrifugal, not centripetal.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 3, April 16, 1870
Various
Here the centrifugal gravity was less than it had been in the hold.
In the Orbit of Saturn
Roman Frederick Starzl
That was because if there were no inertia there would be no centrifugal force.
Common Science
Carleton W. Washburne
The heavier things are, the harder they are thrown out by centrifugal force.
Common Science
Carleton W. Washburne
It is centrifugal force that makes you slide away from the center and off at the edge.
Common Science
Carleton W. Washburne

British Dictionary definitions for centrifugal

centrifugal

adjective

acting, moving, or tending to move away from a centreCompare centripetal

of, concerned with, or operated by centrifugal forcecentrifugal pump

botany (esp of certain inflorescences) developing outwards from a centre

physiol another word for efferent

noun

any device that uses centrifugal force for its action

the rotating perforated drum in a centrifuge

Derived Formscentrifugally, adverb

Word Origin for centrifugal

C18: from New Latin centrifugus, from centri- + Latin fugere to flee

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

Word Origin and History for centrifugal

adj.

1690s, with adjectival suffix -al (1) + Modern Latin centrifugus, 1687, coined by Sir Isaac Newton (who wrote in Latin) in "Principia" (which is written in Latin), from Latin centri- alternative comb. form of centrum "center" (see center (n.)) + fugere "to flee" (see fugitive). Centrifugal force is Newton's vis centrifuga.

centrifugal in Medicine

centrifugal

[sĕn-trĭf′yə-gəl, -trĭf′ə-]

adj.

Moving or directed away from a center or axis.

Transmitting nerve impulses away from the central nervous system; efferent.

centrifugal in Science

centrifugal

[sĕn-trĭf′yə-gəl, -trĭf′ə-]

Moving or directed away from a center or axis, usually as a result of being spun around the center or axis.

Operated in the manner of a centrifuge.

Transmitting nerve impulses away from the brain or spinal cord; efferent.

Developing or progressing outward from a center or axis, as in the growth of plant structures. For example, in a centrifugal inflorescence such as a cyme, the flowers in the center or tip open first while those on the edge open last. Compare centripetal.