1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

terrestrial

adjective

tə-ˈre-st(r)ē-əl How to pronounce terrestrial (audio)
Definition of terrestrialnext
1
as in temporal
having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven scientists haven't even found all the terrestrial life on our planet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mundane
having to do with the practical details of regular life let's focus on terrestrial issues—such as how to pay the bills

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of terrestrial Bioconcentration, by contrast, is a more specific process that refers exclusively to the uptake of contaminants through non-dietary pathways, primarily via respiration (from water in aquatic organisms and from air in terrestrial organisms). — Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026 The Freely free-TV service is built in, meaning the legacy terrestrial channels as well as their on-demand content are available. — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2026 The fox is Svalbard's only native terrestrial predator, apart from the polar bear. — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 Back on terrestrial radio, Parton’s reach stretched beyond country formats. — Russ Penuell, Billboard, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for terrestrial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrestrial
  1. temporal
  2. mundane
  3. physical
  4. everyday
  5. animal
  6. earthly
Adjective
  • Curiously, cobalt was linked with a small rise in amyloid-beta proteins in the inferior temporal cortex.
    — Mike McRae August 31, New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The happy faces lit up their temporal cortex and caudate nucleus, which are parts of the brain associated with higher cognitive and reward processing.
    — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of temporal
Adjective
  • Red neon tubes illuminated art works ranging from the disturbing (a black-and-white photograph of a person stuffing sausages in their mouth) to the mundane (a pastoral painting of a snowshoe-wearing rifleman).
    — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The bingeable workplace comedy was about the glory of the mundane.
    — Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of mundane
Adjective
  • Taken to its most extreme logic of detachment from humanity, exerting the the will into a detachment from one’s physical life—the Romans called it suicide.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The physical security industry is undergoing a structural shift.
    — Robert Messer, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of physical
Adjective
  • Eve maintains its balance without crutches or a walker, leaving users’ hands free for everyday activities.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2026
  • These Pact leggings are designed for everyday wear and look great with oversized sweaters and knee-high boots, blousy tops and ballet flats, or sneakers and an oversized flannel shirt for a more casual ensemble.
    — Jessie Quinn, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of everyday
Adjective
  • Vegetable Oils Vegetable and seed oils are some of the richest non-animal dietary sources of CoQ10.
    — Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 16 July 2026
  • Computer models and other non-animal testing methods still aren’t the best available science, critics contend.
    — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026
Definition of animal
Adjective
  • In the chamber’s center, a drop of water on a chip contains the chemistry of whatever earthly era or exoplanetary site the group is trying to re-create.
    — Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026
  • More importantly, the Zellner brothers platform earthly elements, like music and food, as our most essential joie de vivre.
    — Cortlyn Kelly, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of earthly

Browse Nearby Words

terrenes
terrestrial
terrible
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Terrestrial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrestrial. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All