Library / English Dictionary |
NOCTURNAL
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Belonging to or active during the night
Example:
nocturnal plants have flowers that open at night and close by day
Classified under:
Domain category:
biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)
Antonym:
diurnal (of or belonging to or active during the day)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Of or relating to or occurring in the night
Example:
nocturnal darkness
Classified under:
Relational adjectives (pertainyms)
Pertainym:
night (the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside)
Context examples:
Includes hereditary erythrocyte membrane defects, enzyme deficiencies, hemoglobin abnormalities, stem cell defects (paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria), and alloimmune (Rh) disease of newborn.
(Hereditary Hemolytic Anemia, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)
Defects of GPI anchor biosynthesis genes result in a genetic disorder, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.
(Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Anchor Biosynthesis Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)
Eculizumab binds to terminal complement protein C5, thereby blocking C5 cleavage into pro-inflammatory components and blocking the complement-mediated destruction of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) red blood cells.
(Eculizumab, NCI Thesaurus)
A variety of polymorphic forms of the gene are associated with nocturnal asthma, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
(ADRB2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
Any of several small, burrowing, chiefly nocturnal mammals with body covered with strong horny plates.
(Armadillo, NCI Thesaurus)
The mysterious night parrot, a nocturnal, ground-dwelling creature, was thought to have died out due to a loss of habitat, bushfires and attacks by feral cats.
(Aboriginal Rangers Find Evidence of One of Australia’s Rarest Birds, VOA)
Every night, regularly, at nine, at twelve, at three, they lifted a nocturnal song, a weird and eerie chant, in which it was Buck’s delight to join.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
Nocturnal myoclonus may represent a normal physiologic event or occur as the principal feature of the NOCTURNAL MYOCLONUS SYNDROME. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp102-3).
(Myoclonic jerk, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
Nizatidine inhibits the histamine H2-receptors located on the basolateral membrane of the gastric parietal cell, thereby reducing basal and nocturnal gastric acid secretion, resulting in a reduction in gastric volume, acidity, and amount of gastric acid released in response to stimuli.
(Nizatidine, NCI Thesaurus)
Scientists believe that several factors may interact to contribute to nocturnal storm formation and maintenance: a stable layer of air at the surface; a strong wind current above that layer, known as a low-level jet; and atmospheric waves, some of which are called bores, that ripple out from the storms themselves.
(Scientists tackle mystery of thunderstorms that strike at night, NSF)