glacial

adjective

gla·​cial ˈglā-shəl 

1

: suggestive of ice: such as

a

: extremely cold : frigid

a glacial wind

b

: devoid of warmth and cordiality

a glacial handshake

c

: coldly imperturbable

maintained a glacial calm

2

: of a purity marked by the tendency to readily solidify in the form of ice-like crystals

glacial acetic acid

3

a(1)

: of, relating to, or being any of those parts of geologic time from Precambrian onward when a much larger portion of the earth was covered by glaciers than at present

(2)

Glacial : pleistocene

b

: of, relating to, or produced by glaciers

c

: suggestive of the very slow movement of glaciers

progress on the bill has been glacial

glacially

ˈglā-shə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of glacial

• icy
• freezing
• frigid
• cold
• chilly
• chill
• cool

Examples of glacial in a Sentence

Progress on the bill has been glacial.

a glacial weather front coming down from Canada will bring freezing temperatures this weekend

Recent Examples on the Web

Glaciers could re-form if carbon pollution declines substantially and temperatures drop enough to enable snowfall to build year-round, eventually compressing again into glacial ice, but that may take several hundred years, Menounos added. — ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026

The 50,000-acre working high-country sheep and cattle farm owned by the Wallis family is set deep within a dramatic glacial valley and is bordered by Mount Aspiring National Park near Lake Wanaka, one of the country’s largest lakes. — Luke Abrahams, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2026

Instead, fog clung to every nook and crevice of the glacial hulks surrounding us. — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Oct. 2026

This happened despite the fact that calculations of orbital forcings, together with modeling of how carbon dioxide interferes with glacial inception, have suggested the next ice age was postponed by tens of thousands of years. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 24 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin glacialis, from glacies

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for glacial

• facial
• racial
• spacial
• spatial
• bifacial
• biracial
• palatial
• postglacial
• preglacial
• subglacial
• craniofacial
• interfacial

Kids Definition

glacial

adjective

gla·​cial ˈglā-shəl 

1

a

: extremely cold : frigid

b

: lacking warmth of feeling

2

a

: of, relating to, or produced by glaciers

b

: of, relating to, or being any of those parts of geologic time when a large portion of the earth was covered by glaciers

c

capitalized : pleistocene