Definition of glacial
1 : suggestive of ice: such asa : extremely cold : frigid a glacial windb : devoid of warmth and cordiality a glacial handshakec : 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
3a (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 : pleistoceneb : of, relating to, or produced by glaciersc : suggestive of the very slow movement of glaciers progress on the bill has been glacial
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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 of glacial from the Web
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Trump, impatient with the Senate's glacial pace, asked for a candid assessment of the legislation's status from the veteran lawmakers, according to officials familiar with the meeting.
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Trump, impatient with the Senate's glacial pace, asked for a candid assessment of the legislation's status from the veteran lawmakers, according to officials familiar with the meeting.
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NASA's Gavin Schmidt and Penn State's Richard Alley both pointed out that the analysis assumed that all the warming involved in our glacial cycles comes from greenhouse gases.
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Hike (or run) the rolling, glacial terrain of the Ice Age Trail.
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These forested wetlands still contain rare plant and wildlife species common hundreds of years ago throughout southeast Michigan after the glacial period.
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Saunders was placed on leave of absence from the commission in 2016 after clashing with church officials over the glacial pace of reforms.
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That natural fountain, which pumps out an estimated 1.6 million gallons of water each day, fed a creek and marsh that drained into Lake Mendota — a remnant of Glacial Lake Yahara.
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Cauldron of Water,’ a deep, glacial lake that lies within the wilderness of the Black Cuillin mountains (take note: many of the roads that run through the mountains are not for the faint-hearted).
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'glacial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of glacial
Latin glacialis, from glacies
GLACIAL Defined for English Language Learners
glacial
playDefinition of glacial for English Language Learners
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: of or relating to glaciers : produced or caused by glaciers
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: very cold
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: very slow
GLACIAL Defined for Kids
glacial
playDefinition of glacial for Students
1 : of or relating to glaciers glacial ice
2 : very cold
3 : very slow a glacial pace
Learn More about glacial
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See words that rhyme with glacial Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for glacial Spanish Central: Translation of glacial Nglish: Translation of glacial for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of glacial for Arabic speakers
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