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glacial

glacial

3 6.1
Very cold in temperature like ice
  • adjective
  • /ˈɡleɪʃəl/
: gélido
  • These eggs are positively glacial.
  • glacial pace
  • glacial blue
  • glacial cold

The lake was freezing like glacial water freezing.

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Examples

  • Oh, it's glacial in here.

  • And it's just this majestic, beautiful, glacial world.

  • Beyond, only the cold pressure lights could burn, glacial blue.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • It was the cold that woke her, a glacial cold like no other in her experience.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • On the utterly glacial mornings of the winter.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Seriously, I am working on so many fronts that my glacial progress on Time Diving is hard to measure.

    Blog text (16)
  • The ground, stirred by the glacial breeze.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • This water's glacial!

  • The temperature was 40 below, and a glacial wind swept off the nearby mountains.

  • Tears froze on her cheeks, her heart beat at a slow, glacial pace, as the cold sapped her strength and her life.

Synonyms

frozen
vsglacial
232 1.0

Covered with ice because of very cold weather

concerns the intense, glacier-like temperature rather than the solid state result
freezing
vsglacial
156 1.0

So cold that water turns to ice

emphasizes resemblance to massive icy regions rather than only being at ice formation temperature
polar
vsglacial
131 4.2

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

points more to the impression of glacier temperature than geographic location alone
icy
vsglacial
91 1.0

Very cold with surfaces covered in ice

focuses more on the sense of glacier-like temperature than just surface coverage
ice-cold
vsglacial
42 1.0

Very cold, like frozen water

relates to the chill of large permanent ice masses rather than simple low temperature
frigid
vsglacial
34 4.1

Very cold, like ice or freezing air

refers specifically to the extreme chill of vast ice formations rather than general severity
freezing cold
vsglacial
25 1.3

Very cold, at or below freezing

centers on the image of huge permanent ice cold instead of mere discomfort
frosty
vsglacial
17 1.0

Cold, often with a thin layer of ice on the ground

stresses the deep, glacier-like chill rather than mere surface frost
arctic
vsglacial
13 4.5

Very cold, like the weather near the North Pole

focuses on glacier-like chill specifically rather than general polar conditions
gelid
vsglacial
  • Formal
1 9.9

Very cold, like ice or frost

evokes the specific feel of glacier-like mass cold rather than formal register alone
baltic
vsglacial
  • UK
1 6.8

Very cold, often with a strong wind

is more about the specific glacier-like temperature image than casual weather talk
icelike
vsglacial
1 4.4

Like ice in look, feel, or tone

is about actual glacier-like temperature rather than just looking like ice

Antonyms

hot
∞ 1.0

Having a high temperature and able to burn your skin

∞ 1.0

Having a comfortable level of heat, often after recent use

Compounds

glacial period
  • Specialized
2 6.6

A long time when large parts of the Earth are covered by thick ice

glacial pace
  • Informal
2 6.8

A very slow speed of progress or movement

glacial epoch
  • Specialized
1 8.3

A long period when large areas of Earth are covered by thick ice

glacial boulder
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A large rock moved by a glacier far from where it came

glacial landscape
  • Specialized
1 6.4

An area of land shaped by moving ice

glacial milk
  • Specialized
1 8.7

Cloudy meltwater from a glacier that contains fine rock particles

A very cold, unfriendly way of behaving that keeps others away

How Cold

arctic
13 4.5
glacial
3 6.1
freezing
156 1.0
cold
318 1.0
chilly
112 1.0

Surface Forms

glacial positive

Morphology

glacial = glacier (semi-transparent) = glaci + al

The morphological structure is clear, but the meaning has broadened from 'relating to glaciers/ice' to the more general sense 'extremely cold'.

Etymology

Glacial comes from the Latin glacies, 'ice', and is related to glacier. So when the air or wind is described as 'glacial', it means it is extremely cold, like a glacier.