as in direct
free from irregularities or digressions in course
the bullets from early firearms were notorious for not following a strictly linear path through the air
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Recent Examples of linear
The idea behind a linear collider is to repeat the basic operation of simpler colliders.
—
Paul Sutter, Space.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Genome sequencing includes both nuclear DNA -- the large, linear DNA in the cell's nucleus -- and the mitochondrial DNA, the smaller, circular DNA in the mitochondria, which is almost exclusively inherited from the mother.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2025
These things aren't always linear.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
The film experiments with the scale of geological time to investigate the memory of a mountain through a non-linear narrative.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for linear
Paul Sutter, Space.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Genome sequencing includes both nuclear DNA -- the large, linear DNA in the cell's nucleus -- and the mitochondrial DNA, the smaller, circular DNA in the mitochondria, which is almost exclusively inherited from the mother.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2025
These things aren't always linear.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
The film experiments with the scale of geological time to investigate the memory of a mountain through a non-linear narrative.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for linear
Recent Examples of Synonyms for linear
Adjective
-
Otherwise, the return to land was relatively uneventful, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
3 Oct. 2025
-
MagellanTV co-founder Diefenbach will join Blue Ant as executive vp of streaming, overseeing the Canadian company’s direct-to-consumer and subscription video businesses and reporting to Carlyn Staudt, president, global channels and streaming.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The thriller — more horrific than straight-up scary — is worth checking out, if only for the late Brittany Murphy's nervy turn as a razor-wielding woman confined to a sanatorium.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Oct. 2025
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The currency market was more stable, largely because Javier Milei’s government sold dollars for a third straight day to defend the peso.—
Nicolle Yapur,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Once numbing kicks in, most patients describe the day as straightforward.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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That concentration makes capture relatively straightforward by routing the exhaust through chemical scrubbers, binding the CO2, compressing and storing it underground.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Linear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/linear. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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