Centrifugal

//sɛnˈtɹɪf.(j)ə.ɡl̩// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A rotating machine used to separate massecuite into sugar crystals and molasses.

    "Where the sequencing of the centrifugals is accomplished by the triggering of a function in the process cycle, a buffer zone (nonproductive time) has to be inserted in the cycle time prior to this action."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Tending, or causing, to recede from the center. not-comparable
  2. 2
    Expanding first at the summit, and later at the base, as a flower cluster. not-comparable
  3. 3
    Having the radicle turned toward the sides of the fruit, as some embryos. not-comparable
Adjective
  1. 1
    tending to move away from a center wordnet
  2. 2
    conveying information to the muscles from the CNS wordnet
  3. 3
    tending away from centralization, as of authority wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
decentralisingdeltoiddivaricatedivergentefferentfan shaped

Example

More examples

"This is centrifugal force; Newton viewed it as absolute motion."

Etymology

From New Latin centrifugālis, coined by Christiaan Huygens from Latin centrum (“center”) + fugiō (“to flee”) + -al.

Related phrases

centrifugal force

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.