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Glite Dictionary
🌀 A pulling force 🤝 A uniting influence
centripetal force

centripetal force

6.1
An influence that pulls different groups together around a shared goal
  • noun
  • /sɛnˈtrɪpɪtəl fɔrs/
: fuerza centrípeta
  • The shared goal of improving the environment serves as a centripetal force that unites the members of the organization.

So Amazon is giving you this kind of centripetal force towards these sort of main mainstream modal things in the culture.

Examples

  • In times of crisis, a common purpose can provide a centripetal force that helps strengthen relationships among individuals.

  • So Amazon is giving you this kind of centripetal force towards these sort of main mainstream modal things in the culture.

    Chris Williamson

  • The new community center acts as a centripetal force, bringing together people from different backgrounds for various activities.

Synonyms

force
vscentripetal force
909 3.8

A person or group with power to make things happen

is narrower, focusing on uniting influence rather than general power
tie that binds
vscentripetal force
4 5.3

A shared feeling or value that keeps people together

is a figurative influence that pulls groups toward a common center

Antonyms

division
138 4.2

A strong disagreement that separates people in a group

disunity
4 6.4

A situation when people or groups do not agree

How Unifying

centripetal force
6.1
influence
806 2.3
to pull
779 2.0

Surface Forms

centripetal force singular
centripetal forces plural

Morphology

centripetal + force

The adjective 'centripetal' literally means 'directed toward a center' and 'force' means an influence, so a learner who knows both constituents can compose them as an influence that pulls toward a center. This physical-to-social mapping (a force pulling things together) is a straightforward, regular metaphor and is cross-linguistically plausible, so the figurative meaning is directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Centripetal force comes from Latin parts centri- ('center') and petere ('to seek'), so it literally means 'seeking the center'. Because of this image, people use it for ideas or leaders that pull groups toward a common middle, so it means 'something that unites people'.