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Definition of "cyclic" [cyc•lic]

  • Of, relating to, or characterized by cycles: a cyclic pattern of weather changes. (adjective)
  • Recurring or moving in cycles: cyclical history. (adjective)
  • Chemistry Of or relating to compounds having atoms arranged in a ring or closed-chain structure. (adjective)
  • Botany Having parts arranged in a whorl. (adjective)
  • Botany Forming a whorl. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "cyclic" in a sentence
  • "There is just so much evidence of long- and short-term cyclic temperature variations being well-correlated to solar activity, that CO2 seems like a trivial pursuit."
  • "The system is key to Tepco's plan of achieving a so-called "cyclic injection" of water into reactors, in which cooling water is recycled."
  • "By concentrating on selflessness you will overcome ingrained misunderstanding of the nature of people and things, which is the root of the round of repeated birth, aging, sickness, and death what Buddhists call cyclic existence, and you will attain liberation from suffering."