parabolic
adjective
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The two distinct meanings of parabolic trace back to the development of Late Latin and New Latin. Late Latin is the Latin language used by writers in the third to sixth centuries. In that language, the word for "parable" was parabola—hence, the "parable" sense of parabolic. New Latin refers to the Latin used since the end of the medieval period, especially in regard to scientific description and classification. In New Latin, parabola names the same geometrical curve as it does in English. Both meanings of parabola were drawn from the Greek word for "comparison": parabolē.
Examples of parabolic in a Sentence
Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 12 June 2026
Soccer's low-scoring structure makes such reversals rare and appear, at least numerically, less parabolic.
—Emil Steiner, Forbes.com, 8 June 2026
Today, most of these stations still rely on large parabolic dishes, some over 1.8 m (6 ft) wide.
—New Atlas, 30 May 2026
For the most hard-core searchers, Radford believes the social aspect – getting together, spending a night in the woods with the tools of the trade like nightscope cameras and parabolic microphones – is the real draw of the chase.
—Andy Rose, CNN Money, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for parabolic
Cite this Entry
“Parabolic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parabolic. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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