Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cyclical
Explanation
Though day-to-day weather changes are unpredictable, nature’s seasons can always be counted on to move in cyclical or predictable patterns. Cyclical is used to describe things that are regularly patterned or that occur in regular intervals. The root of cyclical is “cycle” which means movement in a circular fashion, or the circular fashion itself. Planets orbit the sun in cyclical patterns, the moon’s phases are cyclical as well. Some stock brokers say that the market is cyclical, but that may be just a way of telling people to keep investing when it's down.
Vocabulary lists containing cyclical
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Earth and the Solar System - Middle School
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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.
“That should affect the multiple in a positive way, as memory has moved from a cyclical trade to a secular trade,” he told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
“The set of indicators released since the last meeting points to a more pronounced moderation of economic activity, particularly in more cyclical sectors,” the central bank said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
“Everything is cyclical; the vagaries of the economy, those things don’t affect me,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
“That’s not a cyclical dip,” said Jim Butler, CEO of Club Benchmarking, a Boston firm providing data analytics to the industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
The cyclical movement of history was now intelligible, or appeared to be so; and if it was intelligible, then it was alterable.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
