Antarctic
//ænˈtɑːktɪk// adj, name
adj, name ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Alternative spelling of Antarctic. alt-of, alternative
- 2 Of, from, or pertaining to Antarctica and the south polar regions.
"We are likely to consider Antarctic English as an occupational variety of general English rather than a new regional variety, mainly because men go to work in the Antarctic for a period, intending to return. They are not settlers."
- 3 Opposite, contradictory. figuratively, obsolete
- 4 Southern. obsolete
Adjective
- 1 at or near the south pole wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A continental region, one of the major ecozones of the world, covering the south polar regions, especially those south of the Antarctic Convergence; or, in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty System, the 60th parallel south.
Example
More examples"Even if we do this, it will be another sixty years before the Antarctic ozone hole is repaired."
Etymology
From Middle English antartik, antartyk, from Middle French antartique, from Latin antarcticus, from Ancient Greek ἀνταρκτικός (antarktikós), from ἀντί (antí, “opposite”) + ἀρκτικός (arktikós, “Arctic”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”). By surface analysis, anti- + Arctic.
Related phrases
More for "antarctic"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.