Parallel Meaning
/ˈpæ.ɹəˌlɛl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjEqually distant from one another at all points.
adjHaving the same overall direction; the comparison is indicated with "to".
Sentence Examples
It has no parallel.
The road is parallel to the river.
The river runs parallel to the main street.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The two roads ran ____ to each other for many miles, never meeting once.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two roads run ____ to each other for several miles before diverging at the crossroads.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French parallèle and its etymon Latin parallēlus, parallēlos. The verb is from the noun. By surface analysis, par- + all- + -el.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"the instrument held with its plane roughly parallel to the equinoctial or celestial equato"
— 1911, William Robert Martin, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Navigation:
"Upon interaction with ss- nucleic acid (NA) targets (deoxyribooligonucleotides (ODNs) or ribooligonucleotides), they form very stable anti-parallel and parallel duplexes [3 ], and the melting temperatures of the antiparallel duplexes are 10 to 15°C higher than those of the parallel duplexes."
— 2015 October 16, “Polyanionic Carboxyethyl Peptide Nucleic Acids ( ce -PNAs): Synthesis and DNA Binding”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:
"When honour runs parallel with the laws of God and our country, it cannot be too much cherished."
— 1711 July 1 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, June 21, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 99; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
"All three parallel valleys of the Llynvi, Garw and Ogmore are much the same in physical character: the lower reaches are wooded and not unattractive, but as the railway climbs on ever-steepening grades, the hills on either hand grow barer and closer together, while in all respects the scene becomes more sombre, with the terraced, slate-roofed colliery towns and the road, railway and river all struggling for space in the narrowing defiles."
— 1955 July, D. S. Barrie, “Railways of the Bridgend District”, in Railway Magazine, page 449:
"In those days she had admired his pluralistic openness of mind, and struggled, in her kitchen, towards a parallel eclecticism, learning to cook the dosas and uttapams of South India as well as the soft meatballs of Kashmir."
— 1988, Salman Rushdie, chapter V, in The Satanic Verses, page 255:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The two roads ran ____ to each other for many miles, never meeting once.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two roads run ____ to each other for several miles before diverging at the crossroads.