interglacial
noun
in·ter·gla·cial
ˌin-tər-ˈglā-shəl 
: a warm period between glacial epochs
interglacial
adjective
Examples of interglacial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Our planet has always undergone cycles of warm and cold, ice ages and interglacials.
—
Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2025
For the preceding two and a half million years, through the Pleistocene Epoch, the planet’s climate fluctuated between frozen stretches, called glacials, and warm interglacials.
—Zach St. George, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
From the left, these are the early Eocene Epoch; the mid-Pliocene; the last interglacial, or LIG; the mid-Holocene; the pre-industrial period; the historical period; and projections for the future (at extreme right).
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 14 Dec. 2018
But if the dating proves correct, such an attribution is unlikely, as the sediments just above and below the impressions date to a period called the last interglacial, when the climate in the region was relatively warm and wet.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Sep. 2020
But in the warm periods between ice ages, known as interglacials, scientists assume the Atlantic circulation is stable.
—Paul Voosen, Science | AAAS, 26 Mar. 2020
Not all the difference in temperature between interglacials and ice ages was because of carbon dioxide.
—The Economist, 21 Sep. 2019
Today’s level is 1.45 times higher than that of a typical interglacial.
—The Economist, 21 Sep. 2019
Just like home Those ratios line up with climate models that suggest a wetter, more hospitable environment in Arabia, courtesy of a shift in Africa’s monsoons during periods of warmer global climate called interglacials.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 29 Oct. 2018
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Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2025
For the preceding two and a half million years, through the Pleistocene Epoch, the planet’s climate fluctuated between frozen stretches, called glacials, and warm interglacials.
—Zach St. George, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
From the left, these are the early Eocene Epoch; the mid-Pliocene; the last interglacial, or LIG; the mid-Holocene; the pre-industrial period; the historical period; and projections for the future (at extreme right).
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 14 Dec. 2018
But if the dating proves correct, such an attribution is unlikely, as the sediments just above and below the impressions date to a period called the last interglacial, when the climate in the region was relatively warm and wet.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Sep. 2020
But in the warm periods between ice ages, known as interglacials, scientists assume the Atlantic circulation is stable.
—Paul Voosen, Science | AAAS, 26 Mar. 2020
Not all the difference in temperature between interglacials and ice ages was because of carbon dioxide.
—The Economist, 21 Sep. 2019
Today’s level is 1.45 times higher than that of a typical interglacial.
—The Economist, 21 Sep. 2019
Just like home Those ratios line up with climate models that suggest a wetter, more hospitable environment in Arabia, courtesy of a shift in Africa’s monsoons during periods of warmer global climate called interglacials.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 29 Oct. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Interglacial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interglacial. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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