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)
capitalized
: 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
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
But the glacial pace of the Child Victims Act cases has forced Walker, Holmes, and the other plaintiffs to wait years for possible justice.
—
Luke Cyphers, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2025
The image, taken by the OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) instrument on the Landsat-9 satellite, captures the geological and environmental crossroads where desert winds and glacial meltwater converge.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2025
The team predicted colors like sunbaked peach, acid green — which were both shown in PatBo’s collection — and combinations like tan with red, and deep blue paired with glacial blue — as seen at Rachel Comey — would be as part of the collections.
—Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2025
Past research in the Arctic has identified tens of thousands of methane seeps -- many of them linked to climate change impacts and the degradation of cryospheric caps, such as glacial ice, permafrost and gas hydrates, the authors said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for glacial
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Luke Cyphers, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2025
The image, taken by the OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) instrument on the Landsat-9 satellite, captures the geological and environmental crossroads where desert winds and glacial meltwater converge.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2025
The team predicted colors like sunbaked peach, acid green — which were both shown in PatBo’s collection — and combinations like tan with red, and deep blue paired with glacial blue — as seen at Rachel Comey — would be as part of the collections.
—Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2025
Past research in the Arctic has identified tens of thousands of methane seeps -- many of them linked to climate change impacts and the degradation of cryospheric caps, such as glacial ice, permafrost and gas hydrates, the authors said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for glacial
Cite this Entry
“Glacial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glacial. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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