glacial
/ˈɡleɪ.sɪəl/adjective, noun
glacial is spelled G-L-A-C-I-A-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, glacial means “Of, or relating to glaciers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in glacial?
| Letters | 7: G-L-A-C-I-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is glacial?
Glacial appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce glacial?
- UK /ˈɡleɪ.sɪəl/
- UK /ˈɡleɪ.ʃ(ɪ)əl/
Glacial has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-glacial.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of glacial
- more glacial comparative
- most glacial superlative
- glacials plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does glacial mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, or relating to glaciers.
We examined the glacial deposits.
- 2
Very slow.
- 3
Cold and icy.
After the rain and frost, the pavements were glacial.
- 4
Having the appearance of ice.
On cold days, glacial acetic acid will freeze in the bottle.
- 5
Cool and unfriendly.
He gave me a glacial stare.
noun
- 1
A glacial period (colloquially known as an ice age).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Glacial in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | glazial , eisig, eiskalt , Kaltzeit, Eiszeit, Glazial |
| Spanish | glaciar , glacial, gélido , glaciación, era glacial |
| French | glacial |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does glacial come from?
Borrowed from French glacial, from Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs (“ice”). The sense "slow" refers to the speed of actual glaciers, typically around 1 meter per day.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).