acicular

American  

[uh-sik-yuh-ler] / əˈsɪk yə lər /

adjective

1. shaped like a needle.

2. Metallurgy.

   1. (of cast iron) containing ferrite in a needlelike form.

   2. (of an alloy) having a microstructure of needlelike components.

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Other Word Forms

• acicularity noun
• acicularly adverb

Etymology

Origin of acicular

First recorded in 1785–95; acicul(a) + -ar ¹

Example Sentences

Sagenite, sāj′en-īt, n. acicular crystals of rutile occurring in reticulated forms embedded in quartz.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

Spores of Bacidia fuscorubella to illustrate the several-celled, hyaline, acicular type.

From Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 The Ascomycetes of Ohio IV and V by Hilker, Leafy Jane Corrington

It was a ravishing country, a fairy-country of blue skies and fleecy clouds; of acicular summits and sharp-edged crags; of mist-hung valleys shimmering in the sun; of black chasms dizzily bridged by scarlet-flowered vines.

From The Azure Rose A Novel by Kauffman, Reginald Wright

Delicate acicular crystals of considerable length were found long ago in the Pentire Glaze mine near St Minver in Cornwall.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

Minute acicular or dendritic crystalline forms sometimes observed in glassy volcanic rocks.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah