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View synonyms for central

central

1

[ sen-truhl ]

adjective

  1. of or forming the center:

    the central hut in the village.

  2. in, at, or near the center:

    a central position.

  3. constituting something from which other related things proceed or upon which they depend:

    a central office.

  4. the play's central character.

    Synonyms: primary, leading, key, main, major

  5. Anatomy, Zoology.
    1. of or relating to the central nervous system.
    2. of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra.
  6. Phonetics. (of a speech sound) produced with the tongue articulating neither expressly forward nor in the back part of the mouth, as any of the sounds of lull.
  7. Physics. (of a force) directed to or from a fixed point.


noun

  1. (formerly)
    1. a main telephone exchange.
    2. a telephone operator at such an exchange.

central

2

[ sen-trahl; Spanish sen-trahl ]

noun

, plural cen·trals, Spanish cen·tra·les [sen-, trah, -les].
  1. (in Spanish America and the Philippines) a mill for crushing cane into raw sugar.

Central

3

[ sen-truhl ]

noun

  1. a region in central Scotland. 1,016 sq. mi. (2,631 sq. km).

central

/ ˈsɛntrəl /

adjective

  1. in, at, of, from, containing, or forming the centre of something

    the central street in a city

    the central material of a golf ball

  2. main, principal, or chief; most important

    the central cause of a problem

    1. of or relating to the central nervous system
    2. of or relating to the centrum of a vertebra
  3. of, relating to, or denoting a vowel articulated with the tongue held in an intermediate position halfway between the positions for back and front vowels, as for the a of English soda
  4. (of a force) directed from or towards a point
  5. informal.
    immediately postpositive used to describe a place where a specified thing, quality, etc is to be found in abundance

    nostalgia central



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Derived Forms

  • ˈcentrally, adverb

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Other Words From

  • central·ly adverb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of central1

First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin centrālis, “centrally located,” equivalent to centr(um) center + -ālis -al 1

Origin of central2

First recorded in 1885–90; from Latin American Spanish, special use of Spanish central central 1

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Example Sentences

Their bid is undermined a bit by the strength of their opponents in the Central, which will be entirely self-contained for the first two rounds of the postseason.

The school will be built on the campus of a university in Fianarantsoa, a city in the south central area of the island nation.

Those companies have been major beneficiaries of Fed policy to keep interest rates low, and rising expectations for economic growth and inflation could force the central bank to reduce some of its support.

From Quartz

The endless rephrasings of his central argument begin to feel like grasps toward a center that — by Kearney’s own devices — will not hold.

Losing conviction is a central theme of “Little Oblivions,” a dozen tracks that are louder and fuller in sound than her previous work, and that she says reflect her restructured priorities.

Offending the other ones has been a central strategy for Paul over the last year.

President Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division to force Faubus to admit the students to Central High School.

While the world fixated on Ukraine and Syria, a near-genocide ripped through central Africa, to little international fanfare.

It drains your body of nutrients and vitamins, attacking the central nervous system and leaving you in a dehydrated, hazy state.

At Grand Central Station, demonstrators held a die-in, Gothamist reported.

Most of my observations are in keeping with Skutch's detailed report of the species in Central America.

The main entrance is in the centre of the St. Martin's Lane front, and consists of a central roadway for carts and wagons, 15ft.

It is not quite so level nor so perfectly cultivated as central Belgium, but is generally fertile and promises fairly.

But the central economic doctrine of cost can not be shaken by mere denunciation.

She opened a door at the back of the central hall and found herself in a pillared corridor with a door at either end.

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tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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centraCentral African