/ English Dictionary |
CENTRIFUGAL
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Tending to move away from a center
Example:
centrifugal force
Classified under:
Similar:
outward-developing (away from an axis, as in a flower cluster in which the oldest flowers are in the center, the youngest near the edge)
outward-moving (moving or directed away from center, especially when spinning or traveling in a curve)
Antonym:
centripetal (tending to move toward a center)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Conveying information to the muscles from the CNS
Example:
motor nerves
Synonyms:
centrifugal; motor
Classified under:
Similar:
efferent; motorial (of nerves and nerve impulses; conveying information away from the CNS)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Tending away from centralization, as of authority
Example:
the division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
decentralising; decentralizing (tending away from a central point)