Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Having the shape of a sphere; globular.
- adj. Having a shape approximating that of a sphere.
- adj. Of or relating to a sphere.
- adj. Of or relating to celestial bodies.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Bounded by or having the form of surface of a sphere: as, a spherical body; a spherical surface; a spherical shell.
- Pertaining or relating to a sphere or spheres, or to sphericity: as, a spherical segment or section; spherical trigonometry.
- Relating to the planets; planetary, in the astrological sense.
Wiktionary
- adj. geometry shaped like a sphere
- adj. geometry (no comparative or superlative) of, or pertaining to, spheres
- adj. Of or relating to the heavenly orbs, or to the sphere or spheres in which, according to ancient astronomy and astrology, they were set.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Having the form of sphere; like a sphere; globular; orbicular.
- adj. Of or pertaining to a sphere.
- adj. Of or pertaining to the heavenly orbs, or to the sphere or spheres in which, according to ancient astronomy and astrology, they were set.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. of or relating to spheres or resembling a sphere
- adj. having the shape of a sphere or ball
Etymologies
- From Latin sphericus, from Ancient Greek σφαιρικός + -al (Wiktionary)
Examples
“If the planets seem to be spherical, is the universe spherical as well?”
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“The Sony Librie is a stunning e-ink ebook reading device with the most print-like book reading experience you can have at this time (the display moves microscopic black and white particles held within spherical microcapsules).”
“These closed objects are commonly called spherical harmonics, although they are only remotely related to the mathematical definition found in the solution to certain wave functions, most notably the eigenfunctions of angular momentum operators.”
“In science terminology, this is called a spherical aberration.”
The Huffington Post: Earth Day: 10 Incredible Hubble Telescope Images Of Our Universe (PHOTOS)
“Here's where I fit in: Scientists and engineers have used one type of gravity model for the past 100 years -- it's called spherical harmonics and is a bit dense to describe here just look at the equation.”
“After Hubble's launch and deployment aboard the shuttle in 1990, scientists realized the telescope's primary mirror had a flaw, known as a spherical aberration.”
The 'Camera That Saved Hubble' Goes to Smithsonian Museum | Universe Today
“This has to do with motions not progressive, but spherical, that is, with the expansion of bodies into a greater sphere or their contraction into a less.”
“To say that it is a fact that the moon is spherical is just to say that the object, the moon, instantiates the property of being spherical, which is just to say that the moon is spherical.”
“The geometry of elliptic spaces—called spherical geometry—was well known even in antiquity.”
“Aberration (in Optics) In the refraction of light by a convex lens the rays passing through different parts of the lens are brought to a focus at slightly different distances, this is called spherical aberration; at the same time the coloured rays are separated by the prismatic action of the lens and likewise brought to a focus at different distances, this is chromatic aberration.”
Glossary of the Principal Scientific Terms Used in the Present Volume
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘spherical’.
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shapes
words for shape
( randomness, visual. descriptive )triangular, conical, round, broad, congruous, hexagonal, globular, curved, oval, rectangular, parallel, crumpled and 142 more...
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EN - academic vocabulary
Use these and get promoted
abandon, abandonment, abnormally, abstract, abstraction, abstractly, abstracts, academia, academic, academically, academics, academies and 3119 more...
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Minerals and Mineralogy
List of minerals, elements, group names and geochemistry terms encountered in the science of mineralogy. I've chosen to avoid capital letters in most examples, though a great many mineral names hon...
galkhaite, xanthoconite, pyrostilpnite, polybasite, pyrargyrite, djurleite, digenite, covellite, chalcocite, cerargirite, acanthite, aeschynite and 2608 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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Circular
Adjectives meaning circular
circinate, orbicular, rotund, cyclic, arrondi, globose, orbiculate, annular, spherical, spheroid, globular, cricoid
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inquiryqueue's list
words delicious to pronounce
apostrophe, asphodel, anemone, cantaloupe, cantalevered, cardamom, coriander, petrichor, sycamore, luminous, tendril, peculiar and 122 more...
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ChortleGiggleSnort
Significant Words- Guiding you on your path to Snazzibility
flimsy, feeble, ranting, ramble, narky, snazzy, yoghurt, bulbous, pustule, globulous, geranium, megalomaniac and 521 more...
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-sphere, spherico-, sphero-
sphere
stratosphere, sphericocylindrical, spherocyte, spherical, sphere
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hedges's Words
wii, crepuscule, adumbrate, concatenation, sufi, qawwali, furry, riot, mellifluous, conspiracy, etymology, tea cozy and 369 more...
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SAT
abandon,extreme e..., abash,to humiliate, abate,to lessen, abbreviate,to sho..., abridge, abdicate,to forma..., aberration,depart..., abnormality, abet,to encourage, abhor,to hate, abide,to follow o..., abject,utterly ho... and 2228 more...
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adrift's Words
alluvial, motley, amygdala, skein, echo, lucent, evening, clasp, weft, ruinous, waver, eave and 122 more...
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Beautiful Words
phoenix, felicity, glacial, bell, synthesis, peregrine, translucent, transcend, salient, pluperfect, pluvial, aqueous and 94 more...
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Greek Spelling Bee List
need to know these words!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lethargy, biopsy, enthusiasm, odyssey, synonym, calypso, character, eclectic, chronology, cosmetic, cynical, hypothesis and 128 more...
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WrightHandWords's Words
yclept, unction, prana, satya, abhyasa, vairagya, yoga, ashtanga, acronym, etymology, asana, widget and 286 more...
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SAT
alleviate,to lighten, altercation,a qua..., amicable,friendly, ambiguous,vague, put something to ..., unclear, adaptation,A comp..., albatross,a signi..., indifferent, cordial nature, to mitigate, affinity,a natura... and 2229 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for spherical.
bilby Are you leaving unattributed unknown white particle citations on Wordnik? I think we should raised the Terror Threat Level to vexed. Apr 11, 2011
Kristianto2010 Comparing the SEM images of the unknown White particles and Polysiloxane ash, it is obvious that the two are very much different from each other. The unknown white particle is fiber-like while polysiloxane ash is spherical in structure. Apr 11, 2011