Meaning & use
arctic
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Meanings
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Bitterly cold, as if from the far north.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: arctic winds; the room felt arctic.
An arctic wind swept down the valley all night.
The office was arctic because someone had turned the air conditioning up.
She gave him an arctic stare.
adjectivebefore a noun
Belonging to the region around the North Pole, or found there.
Grammar: Often capitalized as Arctic when it names the region: the Arctic Circle.
The arctic fox changes its coat from brown to white in winter.
Scientists measured arctic ice thickness from a research ship.
Arctic summers have almost endless daylight.
Common combinations
- arctic conditions
- The rescuers worked in arctic conditions for three days.
- arctic blast
- An arctic blast brought snow to the south.
- arctic temperatures
- Arctic temperatures froze the pipes overnight.
- Arctic Circle
- Parts of Norway lie north of the Arctic Circle.
- arctic air
- Arctic air poured across the plains.
Synonyms and how they differ
- freezing
- Freezing is everyday and can mean anything below the freezing point, while arctic implies extreme, bitter cold.
- polar
- Polar relates to either pole and is more technical, where arctic is only the north.
- frigid
- Frigid also means very cold but is more general and can describe cold behavior or manner.
- icy
- Icy stresses ice or a cold surface and often describes a tone of voice.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: arctic or Antarctic?
arctic vs Antarctic
Arctic refers to the north polar region, whereas Antarctic refers to the south.
Practice
Polar bears live in the ___ regions around the North Pole.
Choose one answer.
Arctic names the north polar region where polar bears live. Antarctic is the south, which is the tempting wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “arctic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.