Other Word Forms
- cyclicality noun
- cyclically adverb
- noncyclical adjective
- noncyclically adverb
- procyclical adjective
Etymology
Origin of cyclical
Explanation
Though day-to-day weather changes are unpredictable, nature’s seasons can always be counted on to move in cyclical or predictable patterns. Cyclical is used to describe things that are regularly patterned or that occur in regular intervals. The root of cyclical is “cycle” which means movement in a circular fashion, or the circular fashion itself. Planets orbit the sun in cyclical patterns, the moon’s phases are cyclical as well. Some stock brokers say that the market is cyclical, but that may be just a way of telling people to keep investing when it's down.
Vocabulary lists containing cyclical
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Earth and the Solar System - Middle School
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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.
Productivity growth is volatile and often driven by short-lived cyclical factors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
This so-called super El Nino, caused by the cyclical warming of waters along the equatorial Pacific, could be the strongest of the century to affect Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
The S&P 500 remains down this year despite its recent rebound, with attractive buying opportunities in cyclical and quality growth stocks, according to Morgan Stanley.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026
A downside break could suggest that growth expectations are deteriorating, echoing the decline during the 2022 cyclical equity bear.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
But his view of history is fundamentally cyclical: the gains of one age can all too easily be lost by the next.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
