volcanic

[ vol-kan-ik ]

/ vɒlˈkæn ɪk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR volcanic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to a volcano: a volcanic eruption.

discharged from or produced by volcanoes: volcanic mud.

characterized by the presence of volcanoes: a volcanic area.

suggestive of or resembling a volcano; potentially explosive; volatile: a volcanic temper.

Nearby words

Origin of volcanic

1765–75; volcan(o) + -ic; compare French volcanique

Related forms

vol·can·i·cal·ly, adverbvol·can·ic·i·ty

[vol-kuh-nis-i-tee] /ˌvɒl kəˈnɪs ɪ ti/, nounnon·vol·can·ic, adjectivesem·i·vol·can·ic, adjective

sem·i·vol·can·i·cal·ly, adverbun·vol·can·ic, adjectiveun·vol·can·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for volcanic

And yet his music, to the end, although sometimes almost eerily serene, remained most often volcanic.
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest|Nat Hentoff|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This hidden Eden continues to baffle geologists with its oculus of volcanic stone.
What Made Mexico’s Most Mysterious Beach?|Brandon Presser|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Miles beneath the surface, in the absence of sunlight, animals derive energy from volcanic vents.
‘Mission Blue’ Warning: The Ocean Is Not Too Big to Fail|Sylvia A. Earle|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Picasso, that volcanic talker, filled volumes with his anecdotes, aphorisms, and witticisms.
Rackstraw Downes’s Art and Essays Are Two Sides of the Same Genius|Bill Morris|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The part they miss is that the warming, tied to the volcanic phosphates, was fleeting.
The Volcano That Rewrote History|William O’Connor|May 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Five minutes later Mark, who was intently watching the volcanic rock, gave a loud cry.
Under the Ocean to the South Pole|Roy Rockwood
His volcanic temper had become even more than usually uncertain.
The Night Riders|Ridgwell Cullum
One authority credits this State with fifteen or sixteen and another with more than thirty volcanic cones.
The San Francisco Calamity|Various
In 1730 the appearance of half the island was altered by a volcanic outburst.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 2|Various
It was a volcanic mountain, of a good many resources, and of a character not unlike that of Vulcan's Peak, but entirely unpeopled.
The Crater|James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for volcanic

volcanic

/ (vɒlˈkænɪk) /

adjective

of, relating to, produced by, or characterized by the presence of volcanoesa volcanic region

suggestive of or resembling an erupting volcanoa volcanic era

another word for extrusive (def. 2)

Derived Formsvolcanically, adverbvolcanicity (ˌvɒlkəˈnɪsɪtɪ), noun

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

Word Origin and History for volcanic

volcanic

adj.

1774, from French volcanique (see volcano). Figurative sense of "prone to explosive activity" is attested from 1854.

volcanic

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of volcanic

Examples from the Web for volcanic

volcanic

adjective

volcanic