seismic
Americanadjective
adjective
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Also (less commonly): seismical. relating to or caused by earthquakes or artificially produced earth tremors
-
of enormous proportions or having highly significant consequences
seismic social change
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seismic
Explanation
For the ancient Greeks, "seismos" meant an earthquake. Later on, when the study of earthquakes became a science, anything seismic meant anything related to the study of the pressures in the Earth's crust. The English language has a long and proud tradition of stealing scientific words and applying them in all sorts of ways that scientists probably wish they didn't: Darwinian, tempestuous, evolutionary — to name but three. It's the same with seismic, which is now far more likely to be applied to political or psychological turmoil than anything to do with the earth opening up and molten hot lava spewing out.
Vocabulary lists containing seismic
Brace Yourself: Earthquake Words
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Super Seismic: Words for Volcanoes and Earthquakes
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This Week in Words: November 26 - December 1, 2017
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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.
Preliminary information suggested it was caused by an earthquake, but the US Geological Survey said additional analysis indicated "the seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide".
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Seismic anisotropy refers to a situation in which seismic waves travel differently depending on the direction they move through rock.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
As such, they have been detected by a high-quality, continuously operating seismic monitoring network worldwide.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
What makes glacial earthquakes unique is that they do not generate any high-frequency seismic waves.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Hundreds of employees who had been designated as emergency workers headed for an earthquake-proof structure called the seismic isolated building, which was set back from the water.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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.
