elliptical

[ih-lip-ti-kuhl]

adjective

1. pertaining to or having the form of an ellipse.

2. pertaining to or marked by grammatical ellipsis.

3. (of speech or writing) expressed with extreme or excessive economy; relieved of irrelevant matter.

   to converse in elliptical sentences.

4. (of a style of speaking or writing) tending to be ambiguous, cryptic, or obscure.

   an elliptical prose that is difficult to translate.

noun

1. Astronomy.,  elliptical galaxy.

elliptical

/ ɪˈlɪptɪkəl /

adjective

1. relating to or having the shape of an ellipse

2. relating to or resulting from ellipsis

3. 1. very condensed or concise, often so as to be obscure or ambiguous

   2. circumlocutory or long-winded

Usage

The use of elliptical to mean circumlocutory should be avoided as it may be interpreted wrongly as meaning condensed or concise

Other Word Forms

• ellipticalness noun
• nonelliptic adjective
• nonelliptical adjective
• nonelliptically adverb
• overelliptical adjective
• overelliptically adverb
• subelliptic adjective
• subelliptical adjective
• unelliptical adjective
• elliptically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of elliptical¹

1650–60; < Greek elleiptik ( ós ) defective ( ellipsis, -tic ) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

The Moon does not orbit the earth in a perfect circle but has more of an egg-shaped, elliptical orbit.

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More than 100 of Cheever’s stories appeared in the New Yorker from the 1940s into the 1980s, making him a sort of ambassador for that magazine’s brand of polished, elliptical fiction.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is not circular but elliptical, meaning that the distance between the two varies throughout the year.

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The Moon has an elliptical orbit and when it is at its closest point to the Earth we say that it is in perigee.

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In 2023, he released a new album, “Seven Psalms,” an elliptical, gracious invocation for the arc of his life, drawing on biblical imagery and intertwined guitar fugues.

Read more on Los Angeles Times