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arctic

arctic

13 4.5
Very cold, like the weather near the North Pole
  • adjective
  • /ˈɑrk.tɪk/
: ártico
  • Most of the planet is arctic waste or dry tundra.
  • arctic char
  • arctic lakes
  • arctic fox

He's doing this code red Arctic swim, his Speedo diplomacy, right?

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Examples

  • That'll be followed by a bitter cold, arctic air mass and high winds.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The bite of Arctic wind snapped him into a pleasurable sense of himself.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • And then you have the cold Arctic dry air coming from Canada coming down.

  • - It's like an arctic air mass out of Canada.

  • Believed to be another victim of the Arctic cold wave.

  • I mean, literally an Arctic blast that I could feel on my arm.

  • The arctic blast is gonna move through our area... ...driving temperatures down to the single digits.

  • Fall is upon us, the leaves are turning, and you can smell arctic regions in breezes from Canada.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Overhead, the stars in the unclouded sky looked as cold and arctic as ice.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The arctic temperatures made it difficult to spend time outside without proper clothing.

Synonyms

polar
vsarctic
131 4.2

Relating to the North or South Pole and the very cold regions there

focuses on extreme cold that evokes high latitude environments
icy
vsarctic
91 1.0

Very cold with surfaces covered in ice

highlights resemblance to high latitude environment rather than surface ice alone
ice-cold
vsarctic
42 1.0

Very cold, like frozen water

adds geographic likeness to high latitude conditions beyond mere icy cold
frigid
vsarctic
34 4.1

Very cold, like ice or freezing air

adds the sense of resembling severe high latitude environment as well as cold
freezing cold
vsarctic
25 1.3

Very cold, at or below freezing

stresses similarity to harsh high latitude climate rather than just freezing point
glacial
vsarctic
3 6.1

Very cold in temperature like ice

emphasizes resemblance to high latitude climate rather than only ice
north-polar
vsarctic
2 6.5

Relating to the area around the North Pole, the Arctic

is about extreme cold resembling high latitude conditions
gelid
vsarctic
  • Formal
1 9.9

Very cold, like ice or frost

adds the idea of matching severe high latitude climate as well
cold as a witch's tit
vsarctic
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Very cold in a way that feels unpleasant

is the neutral descriptive sense that evokes high latitude climate rather than slang
hyperborean
vsarctic
  • Literature
1 9.9

From the far north and very cold places

stresses likeness to high latitude environment as the main feature
ultracold
vsarctic
1 5.6

Much colder than normal, for example in special freezers or very cold weather

is about natural high latitude climate likeness rather than technical low temperatures
baltic
vsarctic
  • UK
1 6.8

Very cold, often with a strong wind

is a neutral descriptive sense that evokes severe high latitude conditions
perishingly cold
vsarctic
  • Informal
1 7.2

Very cold in a way that makes being outside difficult

focuses more on likeness to harsh high latitude conditions rather than only pain

Compounds

13 3.7

An imaginary line about 66 degrees north where the sun stays above or below the horizon for a day

Arctic wolf
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A white wolf that lives in Arctic North America and has a black-tipped tail

1 3.5

A small fox that lives in the Arctic with thick fur that turns white in winter

1 6.5

A cold-water fish like a small salmon with pink flesh and silver skin

A large squirrel that lives in burrows in far northern North America and hibernates for many months

A group of islands north of mainland Canada near the Arctic Circle

1 6.6

A large hare that lives in the Arctic and turns white in winter

A group of islands north of mainland Canada inside the Arctic Circle

1 3.7

A very cold region around the North Pole with much ice

A very large park in northern Alaska with wild land and no roads

1 8.0

A low spreading bush that grows in the Arctic

A large national park in northern Alaska with very wild, remote land

1 8.1

A small plant that lives for many years and grows in very cold places with pale yellow or white blooms

9.2

A greyish branching plantlike growth in Arctic tundra that is a main food for reindeer and caribou

A small plant with white flowers and hairy leaves that grows in Arctic and mountain areas

9.1

A medium-sized seabird in Arctic regions that chases other birds to steal food

How Cold

arctic
13 4.5
freezing
156 1.0
cold
∞ 1.0
chilly
112 1.0
cool
296 1.0

Surface Forms

arctic positive

Etymology

Arctic comes from the old Greek word arktos meaning 'bear' because people named the far north after bear-shaped stars in the sky. That idea of 'north' became the sense of very cold, so arctic now describes extremely cold, freezing weather.