pyroclastic

[ pahy-ruh-klas-tik ]

/ ˌpaɪ rəˈklæs tɪk /

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adjective Geology.

composed chiefly of fragments of volcanic origin, as agglomerate, tuff, and certain other rocks; volcaniclastic.

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Origin of pyroclastic

First recorded in 1885–90; pyro- + clastic

Words nearby pyroclastic

pyroborate, pyrocatechol, pyrocellulose, pyrochemical, pyrochlore, pyroclastic, pyroconductivity, pyrocrystalline, pyroelectric, pyroelectricity, pyrogallate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pyroclastic in a sentence

Known as pyroclastic flows, they may be even more dangerous than scientists had suspected.
Volcanic avalanches may be more destructive than previously thought|Nikk Ogasa|January 31, 2022|Science News For Students
Pulses of high pressure form within these slides, known as pyroclastic flows, as a result of turbulence, laboratory and field measurements show.
Volcanic avalanches of rock and gas may be more destructive than previously thought|Nikk Ogasa|January 19, 2022|Science News
Perhaps the scariest consequence of an eruption is a combination of all of the above in a phenomenon known as pyroclastic flow, a fast-moving mix of lava, rock, ash, and toxic gas.
Kilauea is erupting in Hawaii. Here are 7 things to know about volcanoes.|Umair Irfan|September 30, 2021|Vox
Since then, dozens of more explosions have followed, generating devastating pyroclastic flows.
Satellites capture dozens of explosive eruptions from La Soufrière volcano on St. Vincent island|Matthew Cappucci|April 12, 2021|Washington Post

When volcanoes erupt, gases blast from the earth in fast-moving pyroclastic flows destroying everything in their path.
A volcanologist shows what makes magma go boom|Science Friday|October 7, 2020|Popular-Science
Much pyroclastic rock and some lava flows are intercalated amongst the Welsh Cambrian sediments.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology|J. E. Marr
Fast-moving deadly pyroclastic flows (“nuées ardentes”) are also commonly associated with plinian eruptions.
Volcanoes|Robert I. Tilling

British Dictionary definitions for pyroclastic

pyroclastic

/ (ˌpaɪrəʊˈklæstɪk) /

adjective

(of rocks) formed from the solid fragments ejected during a volcanic eruption

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

Scientific definitions for pyroclastic

pyroclastic

[ pī′rō-klăs′tĭk ]

Composed chiefly of rock fragments of explosive origin, especially those associated with explosive volcanic eruptions. Volcanic ash, obsidian, and pumice are examples of pyroclastic materials.