glacial
Americanadjective
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of or relating to glaciers or ice sheets.
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resulting from or associated with the action of ice or glaciers.
glacial terrain.
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characterized by the presence of ice in extensive masses or glaciers.
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bitterly cold; icy.
a glacial winter wind.
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happening or moving extremely slowly.
The work proceeded at a glacial pace.
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icily unsympathetic or immovable.
a glacial stare; glacial indifference.
- Synonyms:
- hostile, unfriendly, forbidding
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Chemistry. of, relating to, or tending to develop into icelike crystals.
glacial phosphoric acid.
adjective
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characterized by the presence of masses of ice
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relating to, caused by, or deposited by a glacier
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extremely cold; icy
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cold or hostile in manner
a glacial look
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(of a chemical compound) of or tending to form crystals that resemble ice
glacial acetic acid
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very slow in progress
a glacial pace
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Relating to or derived from a glacier.
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Characterized or dominated by the existence of glaciers, as the Pleistocene Epoch.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of glacial
1650–60; < Latin glaciālis icy, equivalent to glaci ( ēs ) ice + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
Things that are glacial are super cold. A place can be glacial — like the South Pole — but a person can be glacial, too, like that unfriendly girl who gave you a glacial stare. The word glacial is related to the word glacier, which is a huge piece of ice. If something or someone is glacial, that thing or person is icy. You can give someone you don’t like a glacial look, or you can go skiing on a glacial morning. Glacial comes from the Latin glacies, which sounds like the name of a frozen dessert, but which actually just means "ice."
Vocabulary lists containing glacial
Wintry Words
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Hatchet
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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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.
In the northwest of the country, where mining activity is concentrated, glacial reserves have shrunk by 17 percent in the last decade, mainly due to climate change, according to glaciologists.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
Many Fed watchers are betting that Warsh will bring changes slowly because the Fed typically moves at a glacial pace.
From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026
The team focused on Europe during the last glacial cycle, between 60,000 and 35,000 years ago.
From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026
But scientists warn global warming-induced fast melting glaciers are causing many Himalayan glacial lakes to expand dangerously - meaning they can then burst out and sweep away downstream settlements, trekking routes and bridges.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
From Lukla the way to Everest led north through the crepuscular gorge of the Dudh Kosi, an icy, boulder-choked river that churned with glacial runoff.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions 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.
