as in vertical
rising straight up
river rafters staring awestruck at the canyon's nearly perpendicular cliffs
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Recent Examples of perpendicular
The perpendicular energy from Tuesday's earthquake went toward Hawaii.
—
Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 30 July 2025
But with the boat between 50 and 100 yards from the craggy shore near Rubicon Point, its engine failed, causing the vessel to turn broadside — perpendicular — to the oncoming waves, the NTSB said.
—Ethan Wolin
updated July 23, Sacbee.com, 23 July 2025
In April, the brand opened a 1,100-square-foot flagship on Rue François 1er, a perpendicular to luxury shopping epicenter Avenue Montaigne.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 15 July 2025
This wine estate is located up a beautiful valley west of, and perpendicular to, the axis of the hills that form the Côte d’Or.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for perpendicular
Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 30 July 2025
But with the boat between 50 and 100 yards from the craggy shore near Rubicon Point, its engine failed, causing the vessel to turn broadside — perpendicular — to the oncoming waves, the NTSB said.
—Ethan Wolin
updated July 23, Sacbee.com, 23 July 2025
In April, the brand opened a 1,100-square-foot flagship on Rue François 1er, a perpendicular to luxury shopping epicenter Avenue Montaigne.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 15 July 2025
This wine estate is located up a beautiful valley west of, and perpendicular to, the axis of the hills that form the Côte d’Or.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for perpendicular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perpendicular
Adjective
-
This First House will have a focus on affordable homes and projects and episodes will feature more tech-centric visuals including Instagram reels and TikTok-style content as well as vertical videos and video conferencing.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Goat Springs is nestled in a clump of piñons between the rolling mass of Goat Mountain and the seemingly vertical face of Bennett Mountain.—
Tim Kelly,
Outdoor Life,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Her son, Pax, 21, joined the audience in giving her a standing ovation following the film’s premiere.—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
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And scores of the world’s top auteurs came to compete with strong new titles — many of them instant Oscar contenders the moment the customary standing ovations wound down each night inside Venice’s Sala Grande cinema.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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On the fateful day that inbound Soviet bombers filled the skies above America with godless communism, the horizontal Bomarc missiles would literally become erect, and fire vertically.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Aug. 2025
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The name of Fort Benning, for example, was suggested by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization that sought to rewrite history textbooks and erect monuments that honored the Confederacy and downplayed slavery's centrality to the Civil War.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
19 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Perpendicular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perpendicular. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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