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Newtonian

American

[noo-toh-nee-uhn, nyoo-] / nuˈtoʊ ni ən, nyu- /

adjective

of or relating to Sir Isaac Newton or to his theories or discoveries.

Newtonian physics.

Newtonian British

/ njuːˈtəʊnɪən /

adjective

of, relating to, or based on the theories of Sir Isaac Newton

"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

Other Word Forms

non-Newtonian adjective
post-Newtonian adjective
pre-Newtonian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Newtonian

First recorded in 1705–15; Newton + -ian

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This means the calculations rely entirely on Einstein's theory of gravity rather than simplified Newtonian approximations.

From Science Daily • Dec. 19, 2025

Monjo’s theory helps unify scientific concepts of Newtonian gravity with our knowledge of electromagnetism.

From Salon • Nov. 13, 2024

A new staging presented by Bedlam makes a valiant effort to adapt Stoppard’s cerebral probes into chaos theory, Newtonian law, thermodynamics and metaphysics for a 2023 audience, but the result is a muddled one.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2023

Scientifically, a Newtonian fluid is one in which the shear force varies in direct proportion with the stress it puts on the material, known as the shearing strain.

From Scientific American • May 9, 2023

This is the meaning of the word “universal” as applied to Newtonian gravitation.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023