astronomical
/astrəˈnɒmɪk(ə)l
/adjective
1Relating to astronomy: astronomical observations...
- The Moon could also become the principal astronomical observation platform in the solar system.
- The first known astronomical observations made by Galileo were carried out in 1604 for different reasons.
- This discovery was of great importance to the astronomical world, but Hubble's greatest moment was yet to come.
Synonyms
celestial, planetary, stellar, astronomic, heavenly
2 informal (Of an amount) extremely large: he wanted an astronomical fee...
- It is spending astronomical amounts of money, alienating allies and further antagonizing opponents.
- If you add all the money raised for cancer research each year, you will have an astronomical amount.
- Even some of the more hardened observers are stunned by the astronomical amounts of money that can be made.
Derivatives
astronomic
/ adjectivesense 2. ...- The most expensive city centre apartments sell for between £1m- £2m each - allowing developers to pay astronomic land prices.
- But now there are fears that the astronomic cost of property will force away young or first-time buyers.
- How can young people, burdened with student debt and the astronomic cost of property, put aside 15 per cent of their income as the experts advise?
astronomically
/ adverb ...- Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
- Food was scarce and astronomically expensive.
- Residents of these neighbourhoods, where poverty and unemployment is astronomically high, complain of frequent and arbitrary police violence.
Origin
Mid 16th century: via Latin from Greek astronomikos, from astronomia (see astronomy).
Rhymes
- idem sonans
- ident
- identical
- identicality
- identically
- identicalness
- identical twin
- identifiability
- identifiable
- identifiably
- identifical
- identifically
- identification
- identificational
- identification beacon
- identification disc
- identification disk
- identification panel
- identification parade
- identification plate
- identification tag
- identification technology
- identificatory
- identifier
- identify