glacial

[gley-shuhl]

See more synonyms for glacial on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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.

Origin of glacial

1650–60; < Latin glaciālis icy, equivalent to glaci(ēs) ice + -ālis -al¹

Related formsgla·cial·ly, adverbnon·gla·cial, adjectivenon·gla·cial·ly, adverbun·gla·cial, adjectiveun·gla·cial·ly, adverb

Synonyms

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4. 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.
Brooklyn’s Gangster Graveyard
Nina Strochlic
October 23, 2014
“Americans will never drive a small car,” said the man from GM with glacial confidence.
Nationalism on Four Wheels
Clive Irving
October 18, 2014
Folks are taking cold showers already, and the weather soon will be glacial.
In Ukraine, Winter Is Coming
Anna Nemtsova
September 23, 2014
For a church that moves at a glacial pace, the murmurings of Bishops like Tobin are lightning fast and boldly subversive.
A Coming American Schism Over Pope Francis?
Candida Moss
September 20, 2013
The often glacial pace of change can prove particularly frustrating to former clerks who return as justices.
Advice for a New Justice
Seth Stern, Stephen Wermiel
October 5, 2010

Historical Examples

Perhaps the Glacial period which followed was too cold for them.
The Meaning of Evolution
Samuel Christian Schmucker
He rose as Roma entered, and received her with his great but glacial politeness.
The Eternal City
Hall Caine
"I had no idea you were with Miss Gray, Robin," she heard the lady say in glacial accents.
Mary Gray
Katharine Tynan
Even with that, his solitude was glacial, and reacted on his character.
The Education of Henry Adams
Henry Adams
If the glacial period were uniformity, what was catastrophe?
The Education of Henry Adams
Henry Adams

British Dictionary definitions for glacial

glacial

adjective

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

Derived Formsglacially, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

glacial in Science

glacial

[glā′shəl]

Relating to or derived from a glacier.
Characterized or dominated by the existence of glaciers, as the Pleistocene Epoch.

glacial

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Synonyms

Related Words

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.

He rose as Roma entered, and received her with his great but glacial politeness.

"I had no idea you were with Miss Gray, Robin," she heard the lady say in glacial accents.

Even with that, his solitude was glacial, and reacted on his character.

If the glacial period were uniformity, what was catastrophe?

glacial

Word Origin and History for glacial

adj.

glacial

Origin of glacial