glacial
Americanadjective
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of or relating to glaciers or ice sheets.
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resulting from or associated with the action of ice or glaciers.
glacial terrain.
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characterized by the presence of ice in extensive masses or glaciers.
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bitterly cold; icy.
a glacial winter wind.
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happening or moving extremely slowly.
The work proceeded at a glacial pace.
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icily unsympathetic or immovable.
a glacial stare; glacial indifference.
- Synonyms:
- hostile, unfriendly, forbidding
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Chemistry. of, relating to, or tending to develop into icelike crystals.
glacial phosphoric acid.
adjective
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characterized by the presence of masses of ice
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relating to, caused by, or deposited by a glacier
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extremely cold; icy
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cold or hostile in manner
a glacial look
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(of a chemical compound) of or tending to form crystals that resemble ice
glacial acetic acid
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very slow in progress
a glacial pace
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Relating to or derived from a glacier.
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Characterized or dominated by the existence of glaciers, as the Pleistocene Epoch.
Other Word Forms
- glacially adverb
- nonglacial adjective
- nonglacially adverb
- unglacial adjective
- unglacially adverb
Etymology
Origin of glacial
1650–60; < Latin glaciālis icy, equivalent to glaci ( ēs ) ice + -ālis -al 1
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.
Between 1990 and 2018, the volume of the world’s glacial lakes expanded by nearly 50%, according to the first global survey of these lakes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Caswill sets the mood with a shot of a snow-capped mountain range, fitting for a movie that proceeds at a glacial pace.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026
Their goal was to collect glacial meltwater at its source.
From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2026
However, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the glacial pace of peace negotiations, saying he was "very sceptical" about the possibility of achieving "peace in the short term" in Ukraine.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
“Why, you little...Arctic glacial water, you said. Makes a polar bear smell good, does it? It smells, all right, and I’m sure Pearl Ann would agree.”
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
