Glacial Meaning
/ˈɡleɪ.sɪəl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf, or relating to glaciers.
adjVery slow.
Sentence Examples
Glacial meltwater is not purer than other types of water.
Glacial water gets its colour from rock flour.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The wind felt ____ as we approached the huge ice sheet.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Progress on the project has been moving at a ____ pace, with very few significant updates in recent months.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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):
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The wind felt ____ as we approached the huge ice sheet.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Progress on the project has been moving at a ____ pace, with very few significant updates in recent months.