polar

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈpəʊlə/ 🇺🇸 /ˈpoʊlɜr/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Of or relating to the North or South Pole, or the regions around them.; Of or relating to a pole of a sphere, magnet, or other body.; Directly opposite in character, nature, or tendency; diametrically opposed.; In chemistry, having a separation of electric charge leading to a molecule with a positive end and a negative end.; In mathematics, relating to or measured from a pole, as in polar coordinates.; In astronomy, relating to or near the celestial pole.; In optics, relating to the polarization of light.
  2. noun
    In geometry, a straight line associated with a point with respect to a conic section.; A star situated near one of the celestial poles.; In chemistry, a polar substance or molecule.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Comparative: more polar Superlative: most polar

Collocations

polar bearpolar icepolar oppositepolar regionspolar coordinatespolar vortexpolar explorer

Derivatives

polaritypolarizepolarizationpolarizerbipolarmultipolarunipolarpolarly

Synonyms

arcticantarcticfrigidglacialfrozen

Antonyms

equatorialtropical

Commonly confused

polarized
EN: 'Polar' describes something relating to the poles or extremes; 'polarized' means divided into two opposing groups or filtered by polarization.
polarity
EN: 'Polarity' is the noun form referring to the state of having poles or opposite tendencies; 'polar' is the adjective.

Spelling tips

EN: No common spelling issues. Note that 'polar' has one 'l', while 'polarity' and 'polarize' retain the single 'l' before the suffix.

💬 Examples

  1. Polar bears are native to the Arctic region.

  2. The polar axis of the Earth is tilted at approximately 23.5 degrees.

  3. The two candidates held polar views on economic policy.

  4. Water is a polar molecule because of its bent shape and electronegativity difference.

  5. The equation r = 2cos(θ) describes a circle in polar coordinates.

  6. Polaris is known as the polar star because it lies close to the north celestial pole.

  7. A polar filter can reduce glare from reflective surfaces.

  8. The polar of a point outside a circle is the line joining the points of tangency of the two tangents from that point.

  9. Polaris has served as the northern polar for centuries.

  10. The solvent used in the reaction was a polar, such as methanol.