terrestrial

adjective

tə-ˈre-st(r)ē-əl How to pronounce terrestrial (audio)
Definition of terrestrialnext
1
as in temporal
having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven scientists haven't even found all the terrestrial life on our planet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mundane
having to do with the practical details of regular life let's focus on terrestrial issues—such as how to pay the bills

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of terrestrial Along with this are isotopes like Strontium-90, Rhodium-103, Palladium-105-110, and Americium-241, which have all sorts of medical, industrial, and space/terrestrial applications. — David Szondy august 22, New Atlas, 22 Aug. 2026 Unlike terrestrial data centers, repairs or replacement could require another launch. — Contessa Brewer, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026 Plants themselves evolved from ancient green algal ancestors, eventually spreading across nearly every terrestrial environment. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026 That means investing not just in subsea cables, but also in the infrastructure that brings them ashore and carries data onward, from landing stations to terrestrial fibre networks. — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for terrestrial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrestrial
  1. temporal
  2. mundane
  3. physical
  4. everyday
  5. animal
  6. earthly
Adjective
  • The happy faces lit up their temporal cortex and caudate nucleus, which are parts of the brain associated with higher cognitive and reward processing.
    — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The study also establishes Cygnus X-3 as the first ultra-high-energy gamma-ray source known to show temporal variability.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of temporal
Adjective
  • Tend to the mundane tasks occupying your to-do list, Sagittarius.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
  • In the meantime, you’ll be preoccupied with more mundane things this month, like organizing your budget and catching up on correspondence.
    — Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of mundane
Adjective
  • If physical gestures serve our relatives just fine, why did our own branch of the family tree gradually favor biological changes in our brains and anatomy that permitted our characteristic complexities in language and precision in speech?
    — Mike McRae September 02, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
  • His best explanations for this are pressure from shareholders to prioritize immediate returns over long-term investments, and years of obsession with digital that came at the expense of physical retail.
    — Hilary Milnes, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of physical
Adjective
  • What does fitness and physique mean to you in your work and in your everyday life?
    — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Including both everyday audiences and front-line workers in benefits is key, according to Farm Aid co-executive director Jennifer Fahy.
    — James Pollard, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of everyday
Adjective
  • Vegetable Oils Vegetable and seed oils are some of the richest non-animal dietary sources of CoQ10.
    — Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 16 July 2026
  • Computer models and other non-animal testing methods still aren’t the best available science, critics contend.
    — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026
Definition of animal
Adjective
  • The eagerly anticipated new Los Angeles museum will welcome earthly visitors on September 22.
    — Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Instead, Farage's main opponent is Count Binface, a political satirist posing as a comic space alien, with a keen interest in earthly matters, including the positioning of a hand dryer in the men's toilet in a pub in west London.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of earthly

Browse Nearby Words

terrenes
terrestrial
terrible
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Terrestrial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrestrial. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All