Meaning & use
ovular
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalbiology
Relating to an ovule or an egg cell, especially the parts of a flower or the female reproductive system.
Grammar: Comes before the noun it describes: the ovular tissue.
Patterns
- ovular tissue
- ovular development
The botanist studied ovular development in flowering plants.
Ovular cells were sampled and counted under the microscope.
The diagram shows the ovular structures inside the ovary.
adjectivecomparableinformalrare
Having the rounded, slightly elongated shape of an egg.
Grammar: Can follow a linking verb or come before a noun: the table is ovular.
Patterns
- an ovular shape
- ovular in shape
The pond has an ovular shape, wider at one end than the other.
She chose an ovular mirror to hang above the sink.
Some writers use ovular where careful writers would write oval.
Common combinations
- ovular tissue
- The ovular tissue becomes the seed coat as the plant matures.
- ovular shape
- The table has a smooth, ovular shape that suits a small room.
- ovular cells
- Researchers examined the ovular cells for signs of damage.
- ovular development
- Temperature can affect ovular development in some species.
Synonyms and how they differ
- oval
- Oval is the standard word for egg-like or elliptical shapes, and is far more common than ovular in that sense.
- egg-shaped
- Egg-shaped is plainer and more informal, and it suggests one end is narrower than the other.
- ovarian
- Ovarian relates to the ovary as an organ, whereas ovular relates to the ovule or egg cell inside.
Word family
- ovule noun
- the part of a plant that becomes a seed after fertilization
- ovum noun
- a mature female egg cell
- ovulate verb
- to release an egg from the ovary
- ovulation noun
- the release of an egg cell from the ovary
Commonly confused: ovular or oval? ovular or ovulate?
ovular vs oval
Oval is the normal word for an egg-like or elliptical shape. Ovular is mostly a scientific adjective about ovules or eggs.
ovular vs ovulate
Ovulate is a verb meaning to release an egg, not an adjective like ovular.
Practice
A plain description of the shape of a racetrack would normally use which word?
Choose one answer.
Oval is the standard word for a rounded, elongated shape. Ovular is a scientific term about egg cells, and ovulate is a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ovular”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.