levitation
Americannoun
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the act or phenomenon of levitating.
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the raising or rising of a body in air by supernatural means.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of levitation
Explanation
When a magician makes a hat float mysteriously in the air, that's levitation. You may see levitation that appears entirely real at a magic show, with silver balls or scarves appearing to linger in midair. In the illusion of levitation, a magician raises an object or person into the air, and a psychic or medium's levitation might consist of a table rising slowly into the air. There are also scientifically valid examples of levitation, from the simple occurrence of a feather being blown upward by a breeze to magnetic levitation, when a powerful magnet exerts a force that's strong enough to raise a metal object into the air.
Vocabulary lists containing levitation
UFO-cabulary
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Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
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Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
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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.
Additionally, observes Scientific American, superconductors repel magnetic fields, which could lead to more efficient magnetic levitation, or maglev, trains.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2023
A superconductor is characterized by zero resistivity and perfect diamagnetic behavior, which leads to dissipationless transport and magnetic levitation.
From Science Daily • Oct. 2, 2023
Some of the most exciting and promising clean tech — like magnetic levitation trains and other low-cost, high-speed transportation — could finally be viable for mass development with superconductor use.
From Salon • Aug. 10, 2023
The levitation video is also not definitive, because non-superconducting materials including graphite can also partially float in the same way.
From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2023
Those who have been stung by a Billywig suffer giddiness followed by levitation.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
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.
