Plinian

/ (ˈplɪnɪən) /

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adjective

geology (of a volcanic eruption) characterized by repeated explosions

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Word Origin for Plinian

C20: named after Pliny the Younger, who described such eruptions

Words nearby Plinian

pliers, plight, plimsoll, Plimsoll line, Plimsoll mark, Plinian, plink, plinth, plinth block, Pliny, plio-

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

How to use Plinian in a sentence

It would be impossible in any case for me to attempt a Plinian panegyric, or a French éloge.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. II (2 vols)|Thomas De Quincey
Read two papers before the Plinian Society of Edinburgh "at the close of 1826 or early in 1827."
More Letters of Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin
Fast-moving deadly pyroclastic flows (“nuées ardentes”) are also commonly associated with plinian eruptions.
Volcanoes|Robert I. Tilling
The most powerful eruptions are called “plinian” and involve the explosive ejection of relatively viscous lava.
Volcanoes|Robert I. Tilling