gravitational
Americanadjective
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Physics. of or relating to the force of attraction between two masses.
The gravitational effect of the moon causes the rise and fall of ocean tides.
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of or relating to a strong movement or natural tendency toward something or someone.
Their gravitational attraction to self-destructive behavior has been the subject of much study.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gravitational
First recorded in 1850–55; gravitation ( def. ) + -al 1 ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing gravitational
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.
This effect, called gravitational lensing, offers another potential clue to the nature of the system.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
There’s a gravitational pull that we’ve been resisting ever since we made the president a big role, and then placed one of our leads in the role of vice president.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
These occur when a star passes too close to a supermassive black hole and experiences such extreme gravitational forces that it is torn apart.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
However, Hubble did not reveal clear evidence of strong gravitational lensing.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
From time to time some of these lonely comets are nudged out of their normal orbit by some slight gravitational perturbation–a passing star perhaps.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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