centrifugal

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adjective cen·trif·u·gal \sen-ˈtri-fyə-gəl, -ˈtri-fi-, especially British ˌsen-tri-ˈfyü-gəl\

Definition of centrifugal

1 : proceeding or acting in a direction away from a center or axis centrifugal acceleration of a body
2 : using or acting by centrifugal force a centrifugal pump
3 : efferent centrifugal nerves of the heart
4 : tending away from centralization : separatist centrifugal tendencies in modern society

centrifugally

play \-gə-lē\ adverb

See centrifugal defined for English-language learners

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Recent Examples of centrifugal from the Web

Will Ferrell knows how to use the centrifugal force of his personality to hold a movie together.

— owen gleiberman, chicagotribune.com, "'The House' review: Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler comedy misses the jackpot," 30 June 2017
Like a spinning lawn sprinkler, propelled by centrifugal forces, the water spirals outward, away from the sprinkler head, siphoning some of the star's angular momentum.

— ian o'neill space.com contributor, Fox News, "Baby star’s ‘crying’ solves a stellar mystery," 20 June 2017
Inside, most of the physical space is taken up by a disc drive and a centrifugal fan, which integrates liquid cooling in a console for the first time.

— kyle orland, Ars Technica, "Gallery: Our first up-close look at one Xbox One X… box," 12 June 2017
In real life, once Groves decided to kill centrifugal separation in favor of uranium enrichment by gaseous diffusion, Karl became one of the planners for the big gaseous diffusion plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

— lee billings, Scientific American, "An Alternate History of the Atomic Age," 13 May 2017
Groves chose to pursue gaseous diffusion over an alternate concept—Harold Urey’s centrifugal separation—to enrich uranium up to weapons-grade.

— lee billings, Scientific American, "An Alternate History of the Atomic Age," 13 May 2017
The floorless coaster-like seats with over-the-shoulder restraints allow riders to dangle their feet and arms as centrifugal force causes the gondolas to rock back and forth.

— brady macdonald, latimes.com, "Knott’s new Sol Spin thrill ride has a lot of promise, but does it deliver?," 1 May 2017
While Letta’s co-partisans have struggled mightily to address Europe’s centrifugal decline in stature, Marine Le Pen’s have rallied the disgruntled around the ideal of a salvaging nationalism.

— james poulos, Orange County Register, "Younger Le pen’s reactionary politics tap into pan-European sentiment," 1 Apr. 2017
For many decades, however, our centrifugal Congress has been spinning off essentially legislative powers, delegating them to presidents and executive agencies.

— george will, Twin Cities, "George Will: Questions for Judge Gorsuch," 19 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'centrifugal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

centrifugal and Science

Centrifugal force is what keeps a string with a ball on the end taut when you whirl it around. A centrifuge is a machine that uses centrifugal force. At the end of a washing machine's cycle, it becomes a weak and simple centrifuge as it whirls the water out of your clothes. Centrifuges hundreds of thousands of times as powerful are essential to nuclear technology and drug manufacturing. Part of an astronaut's training occurs in a centrifuge that generates force equal to several times the force of gravity (about like a washing machine) to get them used to the forces they'll encounter in a real space mission.