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circular

adjective · noun · verb

Simple meaning

Of or relating to a circle.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

surkyuhler

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsɝkjəlɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Having the shape or form of a circle

  2. In the shape of, or moving in a circle.

  3. Of or relating to a circle.

  4. Distributed to a large number of persons.

  5. Referring back to itself, so as to prevent computation or comprehension; infinitely recursive.

  6. Circuitous or roundabout.

noun

  1. An advertisement, directive or notice intended for mass circulation.

  2. An advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution

    “He mailed the circular to all subscribers.”

  3. A freely distributed letter or pamphlet on routine matters.

  4. The trash container; the wastebasket.

  5. A shuttle bus with a circular route.

verb

  1. To extend in a circular direction.

  2. To distribute circulars to or at.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Having the shape or form of a circle

Used this way, circular is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use circular

  • “He mailed the circular to all subscribers.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

circular motioncircular orbitcircular arccircular dichroismcircular lettercircular formnearly circularcircular path

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • circular measurenounCompound term

    Measurement of angles in radians.

  • circular planenounCompound term

    A plane with a flexible face that can plane concave or convex surfaces.

  • circular sawnounCompound term

    A power saw that has a steel disk with cutting teeth on the periphery.

  • circular functionnounCompound term

    Function of an angle expressed as a ratio of the length of the sides of right-angled triangle containing the angle.

  • circular filenounCompound term

    A container with an open top.

  • portable circular sawnounCompound term

    A circular saw that is portable and is operated with a hand grip.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.