different between numb vs glacial
numb
English
Etymology
From the past participle of nim (“to take”). Compare German benommen (“dazed, numb”). The final ?b? is a later addition to the spelling; it was never pronounced, and did not appear in the original word.
Pronunciation
- enPR: n?m, IPA(key): /n?m/
- Rhymes: -?m
Adjective
numb (comparative number, superlative numbest)
- Physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation.
- Synonyms: deadened, insensible
- Emotionally unable to feel or respond in a normal way.
- numb with shock; numb with boredom
- 1915, Nellie McClung, In Times Like These, Toronto: McLeod & Allen, Chapter 2,[1]
- […] when we know that hundreds are rendered homeless every day, and countless thousands are killed and wounded, men and boys mowed down like a field of grain, and with as little compunction, we grow a little bit numb to human misery.
- 1966, Truman Capote, In Cold Blood, New York: Modern Library, 1992, Part One, p. 77,[2]
- […] seeing the dog—somehow that made me feel again. I’d been too dazed, too numb, to feel the full viciousness of it.
- 2016, Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time, Random House Canada, Part Three,[3]
- […] he submitted […] as a traitor, his mind numb with vodka, submits to a firing squad.
- Synonym: stunned
- (obsolete) Causing numbness.
- c. 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act II, Scene 1,[4]
- […] he did lap me
- Even in his own garments, and gave himself,
- All thin and naked to the numb cold night.
- c. 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act II, Scene 1,[4]
Antonyms
- sensible, sensitive
Derived terms
Related terms
- numskull
Translations
Verb
numb (third-person singular simple present numbs, present participle numbing, simple past and past participle numbed)
- (transitive) To cause to become numb (physically or emotionally).
- Synonym: benumb
- (transitive) To cause (a feeling) to be less intense.
- 1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, “The Grey Woman” in The Grey Woman and Other Tales, London: Smith, Elder & Co.,[5]
- [I was] thankful for the pain, which helped to numb my terror.
- Synonym: dull
- 1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, “The Grey Woman” in The Grey Woman and Other Tales, London: Smith, Elder & Co.,[5]
- (transitive) To cause (the mind, faculties, etc.) to be less acute.
- 1912, Saki, “The Hounds of Fate” in The Chronicles of Clovis, London: John Lane, p. 219,[6]
- […] hunger, fatigue, and despairing hopelessness had numbed his brain […]
- 1927, Hugh Lofting, Doctor Dolittle’s Garden, Part Four, Chapter 6,[7]
- The noise, the rush of air past our ears, was positively terrific. It actually seemed to numb the senses and make it almost impossible to take in impressions at all.
- 2004, Cory Doctorow, Eastern Standard Tribe, Chapter 13,[8]
- [The sofa] exhaled a breath of trapped ancient farts, barf-smell, and antiseptic, the parfum de asylum that gradually numbed my nose to all other scents on the ward.
- Synonym: dull
- 1912, Saki, “The Hounds of Fate” in The Chronicles of Clovis, London: John Lane, p. 219,[6]
- (intransitive) To become numb (especially physically).
- 1918, Lewis R. Freeman, Many Fronts, London: John Murray, “Wonders of the Teleferica,” p. 270,[9]
- […] after fumbling with numbing fingers for ten or fifteen minutes, he waved his hand with a gesture of despair […]
- 1919, Arthur Murray Chisholm, The Land of Strong Men, New York: H.K. Fly, Chapter 18,[10]
- […] once more his feet began to numb. Again he got down and stamped the circulation going, but as soon as he began to ride again they numbed.
- 1918, Lewis R. Freeman, Many Fronts, London: John Murray, “Wonders of the Teleferica,” p. 270,[9]
Derived terms
- mind-numbing
Translations
numb From the web:
- what number
- what number is may
- what number is june
- what number month is may
- what number month is april
- what number month is june
- what number is iv
- what number day of the year is it
glacial
English
Etymology
From French glacial, from Latin glaci?lis, from glaci?s (“ice”). The sense "slow" refers to the speed of actual glaciers, typically around 1 meter per day.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /??le?.s??l/, /??le?.?(?)?l/
- Rhymes: -e???l
Adjective
glacial (comparative more glacial, superlative most glacial)
- Of, or relating to glaciers.
- Wang Shijin is a glacier expert and director of the Yulong Snow Mountain Glacial and Environmental Observation Research Station.
- (figuratively) Very slow.
- 2010, "Under the volcano", The Economist, 16 Oct 2010:
- Progress on judicial reform has been glacial, meeting enormous resistance.
- 2010, "Under the volcano", The Economist, 16 Oct 2010:
- Cold and icy.
- Having the appearance of ice.
- (figuratively) Cool and unfriendly.
Hyponyms
Translations
Noun
glacial (plural glacials)
- A glacial period (colloquially known as an ice age).
- Synonym: ice age
- Coordinate term: interglacial
Translations
Derived terms
- glacial till
References
Anagrams
- gallica
Catalan
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /?l?.si?al/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /?la.si?al/
Adjective
glacial (masculine and feminine plural glacials)
- glacial
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?la.sjal/
- Homophones: glaciale, glaciales
Adjective
glacial (feminine singular glaciale, masculine plural glaciaux, feminine plural glaciales)
- glacial (all meanings)
Further reading
- “glacial” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Galician
Adjective
glacial m or f (plural glaciais)
- frozen, at the temperature of ice
- Synonym: xeado
- glacial, pertaining to glaciers
- (figuratively) frigid, chilly, not cordial
- Synonym: xélido
Related terms
- glaciación
Norman
Etymology
From Latin glaci?lis, from glaci?s (“ice”).
Adjective
glacial m
- (Jersey) icy
Portuguese
Adjective
glacial m or f (plural glaciais, comparable)
- glacial (cold and icy)
- Synonym: gélido
- glacial (relating to glaciers)
- relating to ice ages
- (figuratively) glacial; cold (emotionally distant)
- Synonyms: frio, gélido
Romanian
Etymology
From French glacial, from Latin glacialis.
Adjective
glacial m or n (feminine singular glacial?, masculine plural glaciali, feminine and neuter plural glaciale)
- glacial
Declension
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Spain) /?la??jal/, [?la??jal]
- IPA(key): (Latin America) /?la?sjal/, [?la?sjal]
Adjective
glacial (plural glaciales)
- glacial
- (figuratively) frigid, chilly, not cordial
Related terms
glacial From the web:
- what glacial feature is circled in figure 1
- what glacial feature separates cirques
- what glacial feature is circled in figure 2
- what glacial feature is lake fork valley
- what glacial period are we in
- what glacial feature is iceberg lake
- what glacial erosion
- what glacial feature is labeled by b
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