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thermal

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thermal¹

  • /ˈθɜːməl/ Australia, UK
  • /ˈθɝməl/ Canada, US

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)məl

Where it comes from

From French thermal, from New Latin *thermalis, from Ancient Greek θέρμη (thérmē, “heat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰer- (“to heat, warm”).

adjective

  1. not comparable Pertaining to heat or temperature. Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.
  2. not comparable Providing efficient insulation so as to keep the body warm.
  3. not comparable Caused or brought about by heat.
  4. not comparable Having a rough finish from treatment with a blowtorch.

noun thermals

  1. A column of rising air in the lower atmosphere created by uneven heating of a planet's surface. The hawk had mounted its thermal by the time he got to the yard, flapping its wings violently against the updraft.
  2. FLIR.
  3. thermocline.

Similar: thermal column

verb thermals · thermaling · thermalling · thermaled · thermalled

  1. To create a rough finish on stone by treating it with a high-temperature blowtorch.
  2. To fly an unpowered aircraft in a thermal (column of rising air).

Thermal²

proper noun

  1. A census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: thermic, caloric, hot, temperature, calorific, thermoelectric, geothermal, electrical, insulation, cooling, heat, defogger, heating, combustion, overheating, warmth

noun

Similar: thermal column

Translations

Every language

adj pertaining to heat or temperature

Españoltermal
Portuguêstérmico, termal
Françaisthermique
Deutschthermisch
Italianotermico
Românătermal, termic
Русскийтеплово́й teplovój, терма́льный tɛrmálʹnyj, терми́ческий termíčeskij

adj providing efficient insulation so as to keep the body warm

Españoltermal
Françaisthermique

adj caused, brought about by heat

Españoltérmico
Portuguêstérmico
Françaisthermique
Italianotermico

noun column of rising air

Françaisthermique
DeutschThermik
Italianocorrente ascensionale
Românăcurent ascensional, curent ascendent

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Cite this
MLA

"thermal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/thermal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

thermal. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/thermal

Chicago

"thermal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/thermal.

BibTeX
@misc{thermal_2026,
  title = {thermal},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/thermal},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}