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.
The drop was driven by seismic events around Newont’s Cadia mine, as well as lower production at the Ahafo South, Peñasquito, and Yanacocha mines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The scientists used seismic waveform modeling to determine what type of structure could produce the observed wave patterns.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
One month after the world number one suffered a seismic shock at the French Open, another upset was brewing.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
As it stands, the aged Burbank facility doesn’t meet current state seismic standards or Federal Aviation Administration design standards — which has prompted repeated safety warnings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
When the first two tsunami warnings, predicting 10-and 20-foot waves, were announced on TV, he ordered all workers to evacuate to either the seismic isolated building or high ground.
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.
