Adjective

(en adjective)

of, or relating to glaciers

* We examined the glacial deposits

(figuratively) very slow

* 2010 , "Under the volcano", The Economist , 16 Oct 2010:

Progress on judicial reform has been glacial , meeting enormous resistance.

cold and icy

* After the rain and frost, the pavements were glacial

having the appearance of ice

* On cold days, glacial acetic acid will freeze in the bottle

cool and unfriendly

* He gave me a glacial stare

Adjective

(en adjective)

Very swift or quick.

* (John Milton) (1608-1674)

Ascend my chariot; guide the rapid wheels.

* {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)

, chapter=5 citation , passage=The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. There is something humiliating about it.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author= Chico Harlan

, volume=189, issue=2, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Japan pockets the subsidy … , passage=Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."}}

Steep, changing altitude quickly. (of a slope)

Needing only a brief exposure time. (of a lens, plate, film, etc.)

(England, dialectal) Violent, severe.

(obsolete, dialectal) Happy.