glacial

CEFRB2

/ˈɡleɪ.sɪəl/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
adjective
Relating to glaciers or extremely cold.
02
adjective
Extra detail
Cold and icy.

Examples

Glacial meltwater is not purer than other types of water.
Glacial water gets its colour from rock flour.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses: 5
Parts of speech: 1
Citations: 5
Synonyms: 1

Also pronounced

/ˈɡleɪ.ʃ(ɪ)əl/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

Very slow.
Of, or relating to glaciers.
Having the appearance of ice.

More examples

In context

After the rain and frost, the pavements were glacial.
Wang Shijin is a glacier expert and director of the Yulong Snow Mountain Glacial and Environmental Observation Research Station.
We examined the glacial deposits.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The wind felt blank as we approached the huge ice sheet.

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Citations

The word in print, with each source given in full.

Users can see how a glacier at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania retreated between December 1986 and 2020, as well as glacial melt in Sermersooq, Greenland, between December 2000 and 2020.
2022 April 22, Toyin Owoseje, “Google marks Earth Day with doodle showing stark impacts of the climate crisis”, in CNN, archived from the original on 17 May 2022
He could remember a day that he had spent the whole of (he couldn't have been more than ten) running one of the great, creaking freight elevators at a glacial speed, answering the calls of the bell—one ring, five rings, three rings—with an almost unbearable sense of responsibility.
1917, Everybody's Magazine - Volume 37, Issue 2, Ridgeway Company, page 56
I understand that you commented that the Japanese are moving at glacial speed. This is not the only area where they are moving at glacial speed. They are moving at glacial speed in terms of trade barriers, and it is one thing that the American people recognize.
1953, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services, Defense Department Authorization and Oversight, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 1251
Paradoxically, then, the electronic speed offered by computer-based decision-making is often overwhelmed by the glacial speed of data reformatting and checking.
1999, Michael Goodchild, Max J. Egenhofer, Robin Fegeas, Cliff Kottman, Interoperating Geographic Information Systems, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 133
By all means move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.
2006, Aline Brosh McKenna, Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada, spoken by Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep)

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Origin

adjective

Borrowed from French glacial, from Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs (“ice”). The sense "slow" refers to the speed of actual glaciers, typically around 1 meter per day.

Deep Dive

adjective

More examples

Related

Quick test

The wind felt blank— as we approached the huge ice sheet.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

The wind felt blank as we approached the huge ice sheet.