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ELLIPTICAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Characterized by extreme economy of expression or omission of superfluous elements
Example:
the explanation was concise, even elliptical to the verge of obscurity
Synonyms:
elliptic; elliptical
Classified under:
Similar:
concise (expressing much in few words)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Rounded like an egg
Synonyms:
egg-shaped; elliptic; elliptical; oval; oval-shaped; ovate; oviform; ovoid; prolate
Classified under:
Similar:
rounded (curving and somewhat round in shape rather than jagged)
Derivation:
ellipse (a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it)
Context examples:
A fully developed elliptical galaxy is a gas-deficient gathering of ancient stars theorized to develop from the inside out, with a compact core marking its beginnings.
(Telescopes Uncover Early Construction of Giant Galaxy, NASA)
Neso, the farthest-flung of them, orbits in a wildly elliptical loop that carries it nearly 46 million miles (74 million kilometers) away from the planet and takes 27 years to complete.
(NASA Finds Neptune Moons Locked in 'Dance of Avoidance', NASA)
It might have a near-circular orbit or an elliptical one.
(Simulations show planet orbiting Proxima Centauri could have liquid water, Wikinews)
Six known objects in the distant Kuiper Belt, a region of icy bodies stretching from Neptune outward toward interstellar space, all have elliptical orbits pointing in the same direction.
(The Super-Earth that Came Home for Dinner, NASA)
Since 2003, around 30 TNOs on highly elliptical orbits have been spotted: they stand out from the rest of the TNOs by sharing, on average, the same spatial orientation.
(Mystery orbits in outermost reaches of solar system not caused by ‘Planet Nine’, University of Cambridge)
The moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical so sometimes it is closer and sometimes it’s farther away.
(November Supermoon a Spectacular Sight, NASA)
A peripheral blood finding in which a large number of erythrocytes are shaped in an elliptical form.
(Elliptocytosis, NCI Thesaurus)
The newly discovered supersized black hole resides in the center of a massive elliptical galaxy, NGC 1600, located in a cosmic backwater, a small grouping of 20 or so galaxies.
(Behemoth Black Hole Found in an Unlikely Place, NASA)
Comets are chunks of ice and dust that orbit the sun, usually on highly elliptical orbits that carry them far beyond the orbit of Pluto at their farthest points.
(ESA, NASA’s SOHO Sees Bright Sungrazer Comet, NASA)
The tail of the gas stream is flung out of the system, but the leading edge swings back around the black hole, collides with itself and creates an elliptical cloud of material.
(Mysterious Blast Studied with NASA Telescopes, NASA)
