| Library / English Dictionary |
CIRCULAR
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution
Example:
he mailed the circular to all subscribers
Synonyms:
bill; broadsheet; broadside; circular; flier; flyer; handbill; throwaway
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("circular" is a kind of...):
ad; advert; advertisement; advertising; advertizement; advertizing (a public promotion of some product or service)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "circular"):
stuffer (an advertising circular that is enclosed with other material and (usually) sent by mail)
Derivation:
circularise (cause to become widely known)
circularise (distribute circulars to)
circularise (canvass by distributing letters)
circularize (distribute circulars to)
circularize (canvass by distributing letters)
circulate (cause to be distributed)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Describing a circle; moving in a circle
Example:
the circular motion of the wheel
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
cyclic; cyclical (recurring in cycles)
Derivation:
circle (movement once around a course)
circle (any circular or rotating mechanism)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Having the shape or form of a circle
Synonyms:
circular; round
Classified under:
Similar:
wheel-like (round like a wheel)
roundish (somewhat round in appearance or form)
ringlike (having the shape of a ring)
pinwheel-shaped (having the round shape of a pinwheel)
pear-shaped (having a round shape tapered at one end)
pancake-like (resembling a pancake in shape)
nutlike (resembling a nut in shape and size)
moon-round; moonlike (resembling the moon in shape)
goblet-shaped (resembling the shape of a goblet)
disc-shaped; disclike; discoid; discoidal; disk-shaped; disklike (having a flat circular shape)
cumuliform (shaped like a cumulus cloud)
coccoid (spherical; like a coccus)
capitate (being abruptly enlarged and globose at the tip)
bulb-shaped; bulblike; bulbous (shaped like a bulb)
barrel-shaped (having the general shape of a barrel)
ball-shaped; global; globose; globular; orbicular; spheric; spherical (having the shape of a sphere or ball)
apple-shaped (having the general shape of an apple)
Also:
rounded (curving and somewhat round in shape rather than jagged)
Derivation:
circle (ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point)
circularity (the roundness of a 2-dimensional figure)
circularize (make circular)
Context examples:
Its genome is a circular DNA of 5386 bases.
(Bacteriophage Phi X 174, NCI Thesaurus)
The resulting partially single-stranded telomere can adopt a circular confirmation.
(C-Circle, NCI Thesaurus)
Either a circular indicator or a control knob on a device.
(Dial Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)
A dosing unit equal to the amount of active ingredient(s) contained in a reusable circular compact package.
(Dialpack Dosing Unit, NCI Thesaurus)
The detrusor muscle of the bladder, forming the muscular wall of the bladder, consisting of the inner longitudinal; middle circular; and outer longitudinal layers.
(Muscularis Propria, NCI Thesaurus)
A small circular enveloped RNA virus having a negative sense, single-stranded, closed circular RNA genome.
(hepatitis D virus, NCI Thesaurus)
The genome is composed of a circular single-strand of negative sense RNA.
(Nairovirus, NCI Thesaurus)
PACs are maintained as circular molecules.
(P1-derived Artificial Chromosome, NCI Thesaurus)
But Poole was positive nothing had come except by post; “and only circulars by that,” he added.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
The HBV genome is a partially double stranded circular DNA.
(hepatitis B virus, NCI Thesaurus)
