subulate

[ soo-byuh-lit, -leyt ]

/ ˈsu byə lɪt, -ˌleɪt /

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adjective Biology.

slender, somewhat cylindrical, and tapering to a point; awl-shaped.

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Origin of subulate

1750–60; <New Latin sūbulātus, equivalent to Latin sūbul(a) awl + -ātus-ate¹

Words nearby subulate

subtropical cyclone, subtropical high, subtropics, subtweet, subtype, subulate, subumbrella, subunit, suburb, suburban, suburbanite

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

How to use subulate in a sentence

Receptacle convex to subulate, chaffy, the scarious chaff not embracing the smooth dorsally compressed achenes.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray
Receptacle convex to globose, beset with bristle-like or subulate or short and soft chaff.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray
Style undivided or 2-cleft only at the apex; stigmas 2, linear-filiform to subulate or ovate.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray
Involucral leaves numerous, equitant; perianth ovate-subulate or narrowly fusiform, 3-angled, deeply 6–8-lobed.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

Leaves succubous, semi-vertical, circular, or ovate and pointed; underleaves subulate.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for subulate

subulate

/ (ˈsuːbjəlɪt, -ˌleɪt) /

adjective

(esp of plant parts) tapering to a point; awl-shaped

Word Origin for subulate

C18: from New Latin subulatus like an awl, from Latin sūbula awl

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