parabolic
1 Americanadjective
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having the form or outline of a parabola.
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having a longitudinal section in the form of a paraboloid or parabola.
a parabolic reflector.
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of or relating to a parabola.
adjective
adjective
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of, relating to, or shaped like a parabola
-
shaped like a paraboloid
a parabolic mirror
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonparabolical adjective
- nonparabolically adverb
- parabolicalism noun
- parabolically adverb
Etymology
Origin of parabolic1
First recorded in 1695–1705; parabol(a) + -ic
Origin of parabolic2
1650–60; < Late Latin parabolicus metaphoric < Late Greek parabolikós figurative, equivalent to Greek parabol ( ḗ ) parable + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Something that's parabolic symbolizes something or teaches a simple lesson. Many fables and Bible stories are parabolic. If your grandfather's stories always end with him saying, "And the moral of this story is..." then you can describe them as parabolic. They are parables, in other words, tales that try to teach a moral or religious lesson. Another way to use the adjective parabolic is to mean "like a parabola," or a mathematical curve on a graph. The Greek root of parabolic is parabolikos, "figurative," from parabole, "comparison or parable," or literally "a throwing beside."
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.
And one thing we’ve learned about commodity markets is that it doesn’t take much speculative money to make them go parabolic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026
“We’ve seen parabolic moves in gold and silver,” said Ron Albahary, chief investment officer at Laird Norton Wetherby.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 1, 2026
Jordi Visser, head of research at 22V, also sees a pullback given silver’s parabolic surge over the past year.
From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026
Many of their charts look like parabolic moves—almost straight lines higher.
From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026
We waded into the crowd, hands linked, our snaking line slightly parabolic in the middle where Olive buoyed up like an astronaut walking on the moon.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
