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Glite Dictionary
Vesuvian

Vesuvian

9.7
Very violent and explosive like the volcano Mount Vesuvius
  • adjective
  • /vəˈsuːviən/
translation icon : vesubiano
  • Visitors to Italy often marvel at the Vesuvian scenery, shaped by centuries of volcanic activity.
  • Vesuvian eruption

Examples

  • How He must have acted upon each reaction, each Vesuvian burst of new configurations coming to His created senses (for these He must create too in order to appreciate Himself) with the compunction of beginnings, the terror of ellipses as what had been begun began to grow and take upon itself its own begetting.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • It is as a Vesuvian face.

    Blog text (17)

  • Later, we know, in the evening, rings of flamelet quick as a pool's ripple from a thrown stone will ignite these heaps into Vesuvian bonfires, there in those free and far-off times innocent of air pollution.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The scientist described the eruption as a Vesuvian explosion, reminiscent of Mount Vesuvius's violent past.

  • The village was rebuilt after the last Vesuvian eruption significantly altered the landscape.

Synonyms

volcanic
vsVesuvian
  • Specialized
79 3.9

Relating to volcanoes or the lava and ash they produce

is specific to Mount Vesuvius rather than general activity of volcanoes

How Explosive

cataclysmic
22 9.1
Vesuvian
9.7
explosive
233 4.6
moderate
415 3.3
mild
107 1.0

Surface Forms

Vesuvian positive

Morphology

Vesuvian = Vesuvius (transparent) = Vesuvius + an

Formation by the productive adjectival suffix '-an' from the place name 'Vesuvius' yields a clear meaning 'relating to Vesuvius' accessible to learners familiar with the name or with place-derived adjectives.

Etymology

Vesuvian comes from the name of Mount Vesuvius in Italy, a famous volcano that once erupted and buried Pompeii. So, to call something Vesuvian is to say it has an 'explosive' or very powerful quality.