centripetal

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It is observed, however, even by the most obtuse among his friends, that whereas in former times the professor's nights were centrifugal they have now become centripetal--the Keeling Islands being the great centre towards which he flies.

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Definitions (17)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. adjective Moving or directed toward a center or axis.
  2. adjective Operated by means of centripetal force.
  3. adjective Physiology Transmitting nerve impulses toward the central nervous system; afferent.

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Examples (50)

  • Moreover, personality, that subtle essence, exercises a kind of centripetal force, attracting not only the devotion but the imaginations of those who come within its influence. —  Mahomet
  • Victory on the other hand often has a centripetal effect. —  Slugger O'Toole
  • Further, the centrifugal force is also subject to the same law of intensity as the centripetal force, and moreover takes exactly the same path which the centripetal force takes So that we have only to prove that they both agree in another particular, viz. —  Aether and Gravitation
  • 19). Second, it had to follow exactly the same path as the centripetal force or motion, which was that of a straight line joining the centre of gravity of two bodies, as for example the earth and the sun (Art. —  Aether and Gravitation
  • 21). Fourth, its intensity was to be governed by the law of inverse squares, the same as the centripetal force or Gravitation Attraction was governed (Art. —  Aether and Gravitation
 

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Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Cf. French centripète = Spanish centrípeto = Portuguese Italian centripeto; from New Latin centripetus, from Latin centrum, center, + petere, seek, move toward.
 

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/sɛnˈtrɪpɛtəl/
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