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centripetal

[sen-trip-i-tl]

adjective

directed toward the center (opposed to centrifugal).

Origin:
1700–10; < Neo-Latin centripet(us) center-seeking (centri- centri- + -petus, derivative of Latin petere to seek) + -al¹

Related forms

cen·trip·e·tal·ism, noun

cen·trip·e·tal·ly, adverb

un·cen·trip·e·tal, adjective

Can be confused: centrifugal, centripetal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To centripetal

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Centripetal is always a great word to know.

So is vital function. Does it mean:

any function of the body that is essential for life

physically fitted to live; a fetus having reached such a stage of development as to be capable of living, under normal conditions, outside the uterus

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Example Sentences

Centripetal energies often exploded once the dictator died or was toppled.

Ultimately, the designers incorporated a centripetal braking system, which produces more friction at higher weights.

The centripetal acceleration depends both on how fast the object is moving and how large the radius of the circle it is moving in.

Collins

World English Dictionary

centripetal (sɛnˈtrɪpɪt^əl, ˈsɛntrɪˌpiːt^əl)

—*adj*
1.	Compare centrifugal acting, moving, or tending to move towards a centre
2.	of, concerned with, or operated by centripetal force
3.	botany (esp of certain inflorescences) developing from the outside towards the centre
4.	physiol another word for afferent

[C17: from New Latin centripetus seeking the centre; see centri-, -petal]

cen'tripetally

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

centripetal

1709, from Mod.L., coined 1687 by Sir Isaac Newton from L. centri- alternative comb. form of centrum "center" (see center) + petere "to fall, rush out" (see petition).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

centripetal cen·trip·e·tal (sěn-trĭp'ĭ-tl)
adj.

Moving or directed toward a center or axis.
Transmitting nerve impulses toward the central nervous system; afferent.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

centripetal

(sěn-trĭp'ĭ-tl) Pronunciation Key

Moving or directed toward a center or axis, particularly one around which an object is spinning.
Transmitting nerve impulses toward the brain or spinal cord; afferent.
Developing or progressing inward toward a center or axis, as in the growth of plant structures. For example, in the disk of the inflorescence of a sunflower, the florets near the edge open first, and the ones in the center last. Compare centrifugal.

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Matching Quote

"There is a relation between the hours of our life and the centuries of time. As the air I breathe is drawn from the great repositories of nature, as the light on my book is yielded by a star a hundred millions of miles distant, as the poise of my body depends on the equilibrium of centrifugal and centripetal forces, so the hours should be instructed by the ages and the ages explained by the hours."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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