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Glite Dictionary
vortical

vortical

8.3
Having a spinning motion like a small whirlpool
  • adjective
  • /ˈvɔrtɪkəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vortical
  • In a vortical dance, the leaves spun around in the autumn breeze.

Examples

  • The vortical motion of the water made it difficult to stay afloat.

  • An important part of the topological structure comes from twisting caused by vortical motions at the star's photosphere.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The silence of it, too, the vortical quiet of held breath.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The tornado's vortical winds uprooted trees and damaged homes.

Synonyms

cyclonic
vsvortical
1 7.0

Having strong turning winds and heavy rain

applies to any circular or swirling motion across different contexts
whirly
vsvortical
  • Informal
1 7.1

Moving quickly in circles like a spinning top

describes a swirling shape around a center rather than focusing on speed

How Swirling

vortical
  • Specialized
8.3
rotated
2.6
moving
1 1.0
still
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

vortical positive

Morphology

vortical = vortex (semi-transparent) = vortic + al

The meaning is clearly 'relating to a vortex', but the stem change from 'vortex' to 'vortic-' makes the form less fully transparent for learners.

Etymology

Vortical comes from vortex, a word meaning 'whirl' or 'whirlpool', and is related to rotate, which means 'to turn'. So something vortical moves in a spinning, swirling way like water going down a drain.