pluvial

[ ploo-vee-uhl ]
See synonyms for pluvial on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of or relating to rain, especially much rain; rainy.

  2. Geology. occurring through the action of rain.

noun
  1. Geology. a rainy period formerly regarded as coeval with a glacial age, but now recognized as episodic and, in the tropics, as characteristic of interglacial ages.

Origin of pluvial

1
1650–60; <Latin pluviālis, equivalent to pluvi(a) rain + -ālis-al1

Other words from pluvial

  • in·ter·plu·vi·al, adjective

Words Nearby pluvial

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How to use pluvial in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pluvial

pluvial

/ (ˈpluːvɪəl) /


adjective
  1. of, characterized by, or due to the action of rain; rainy: pluvial insurance

noun
  1. geology of or relating to rainfall or precipitation

  2. a climate characterized by persistent heavy rainfall, esp one occurring in unglaciated regions during the Pleistocene epoch

Origin of pluvial

1
C17: from Latin pluviālis rainy, from pluvia rain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for pluvial

pluvial

[ plōōvē-əl ]


  1. Relating to or caused by rain.

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