Library / English Dictionary |
AERIAL
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A pass to a receiver downfield from the passer
Synonyms:
aerial; forward pass
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("aerial" is a kind of...):
pass; passing; passing game; passing play ((American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "aerial"):
flare; flare pass (a short forward pass to a back who is running toward the sidelines)
screen pass (a short forward pass in which the receiver is protected by a screen of blockers)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An electrical device that sends or receives radio or television signals
Synonyms:
aerial; antenna; transmitting aerial
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("aerial" is a kind of...):
electrical device (a device that produces or is powered by electricity)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "aerial"):
dipole; dipole antenna (an aerial half a wavelength long consisting of two rods connected to a transmission line at the center)
directional antenna (an antenna that transmits or receives signals only in a narrow angle)
nondirectional antenna; omnidirectional antenna (an antenna that sends or receives signals equally in all directions)
Holonyms ("aerial" is a part of...):
receiver; receiving system (set that receives radio or tv signals)
sender; transmitter (set used to broadcast radio or tv signals)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air
Example:
physical rather than ethereal forms
Synonyms:
aerial; aeriform; aery; airy; ethereal
Classified under:
Similar:
insubstantial; unreal; unsubstantial (lacking material form or substance; unreal)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Existing or living or growing or operating in the air
Example:
aerial cable cars
Classified under:
Similar:
free-flying (able to fly through the air (as a bird))
Domain category:
botany; phytology (the branch of biology that studies plants)
Derivation:
air (the region above the ground)
Context examples:
Recall the august yet harmonious lineaments, the Grecian neck and bust; let the round and dazzling arm be visible, and the delicate hand; omit neither diamond ring nor gold bracelet; portray faithfully the attire, aerial lace and glistening satin, graceful scarf and golden rose; call it 'Blanche, an accomplished lady of rank.'
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
She busied herself with following the aerial creations of the poets; and in the majestic and wondrous scenes which surrounded our Swiss home —the sublime shapes of the mountains, the changes of the seasons, tempest and calm, the silence of winter, and the life and turbulence of our Alpine summers—she found ample scope for admiration and delight.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
A rude noise broke on these fine ripplings and whisperings, at once so far away and so clear: a positive tramp, tramp, a metallic clatter, which effaced the soft wave-wanderings; as, in a picture, the solid mass of a crag, or the rough boles of a great oak, drawn in dark and strong on the foreground, efface the aerial distance of azure hill, sunny horizon, and blended clouds where tint melts into tint.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)