glacial
[gley-shuh l]
- of or relating to glaciers or ice sheets.
- resulting from or associated with the action of ice or glaciers: glacial terrain.
- characterized by the presence of ice in extensive masses or glaciers.
- bitterly cold; icy: a glacial winter wind.
- happening or moving extremely slowly: The work proceeded at a glacial pace.
- icily unsympathetic or immovable: a glacial stare; glacial indifference.
- Chemistry. of, relating to, or tending to develop into icelike crystals: glacial phosphoric acid.
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Origin of glacial
Synonyms
See more synonyms for glacial on Thesaurus.com4. chill, freezing, frigid, wintry. 6. forbidding, unfriendly, hostile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for glacial
Contemporary Examples
Many thousands of years ago, glacial floods swept through the area and carved out the sloping sides of the current grounds.
“Americans will never drive a small car,” said the man from GM with glacial confidence.
Folks are taking cold showers already, and the weather soon will be glacial.
For a church that moves at a glacial pace, the murmurings of Bishops like Tobin are lightning fast and boldly subversive.
The often glacial pace of change can prove particularly frustrating to former clerks who return as justices.
Historical Examples
Perhaps the Glacial period which followed was too cold for them.
The Meaning of EvolutionSamuel Christian Schmucker
He rose as Roma entered, and received her with his great but glacial politeness.
The Eternal CityHall Caine
"I had no idea you were with Miss Gray, Robin," she heard the lady say in glacial accents.
Mary GrayKatharine Tynan
Even with that, his solitude was glacial, and reacted on his character.
The Education of Henry AdamsHenry Adams
If the glacial period were uniformity, what was catastrophe?
The Education of Henry AdamsHenry Adams
glacial
- characterized by the presence of masses of ice
- relating to, caused by, or deposited by a glacier
- extremely cold; icy
- cold or hostile in mannera glacial look
- (of a chemical compound) of or tending to form crystals that resemble iceglacial acetic acid
- very slow in progressa glacial pace
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for glacial
adj.
1650s, "cold, icy," from French glacial, from Latin glacialis "icy, frozen, full of ice," from glacies "ice," probably from PIE root *gel- "cold" (cf. Latin gelu "frost;" see cold (adj.)). Geological sense apparently coined in 1846 by British naturalist Edward Forbes (1815-1854). Related: Glacially.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
glacial
[glā′shəl]
- Relating to or derived from a glacier.
- Characterized or dominated by the existence of glaciers, as the Pleistocene Epoch.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.