gravitational

[grav-i-tey-shuh-nl]

adjective

1. 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.

2. 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.

Other Word Forms

• gravitationally adverb
• antigravitational adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gravitational¹

First recorded in 1850–55; gravitation ( def. ) + -al ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The party’s gravitational center sits in Cumberland and York counties: Greater Portland and the southern coastal strip.

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To explore this possibility, the UNIGE-led team examined whether dark matter sinks into gravitational wells the way ordinary matter does on cosmic scales.

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Their analysis focused on the small but measurable "wobble" of the host star, GJ 251, caused by gravitational pulls from orbiting planets.

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The planet's strong gravitational pull generated ripples throughout the disk, creating what they describe as "cosmic traffic jams" that kept small particles from falling into the sun.

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Such systems create gravitational forces that typically disrupt planet formation.

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