kinetic
adjective
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Ever watch a top spin? Or see one pool ball collide with another and send it across the felt? When you do, you’re witnessing kinetic energy—the energy of something in motion. Kinetics is a branch of science that deals with the effects of forces upon the motions of material bodies, and something described as kinetic has to do with the motion of material bodies and the forces associated with them. Both words were adopted in the 19th century from the Greek word kinētikos (meaning "of motion") for use in the field of physics, but the adjective kinetic proved too apt for broader application, and by the 1930s it was being used to describe people and things full of literal and figurative energy as well.
Synonyms
Examples of kinetic in a Sentence
Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 23 Oct. 2024
The dual coach was more sanguine than his kinetic soulmate Stokes.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Not that anything feels remotely artificial about the viscerally kinetic setpieces that explode off the screen throughout the cult filmmaker’s latest action melodrama.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Oct. 2024
Ali Vaez, of the International Crisis Group, speculated that the moment for a major kinetic operation—like the one in April—had passed.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Kinetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kinetic. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
kinetic
adjective
from Greek kinētikos "relating to motion," derived from kinein "to move" — related to cinema
Medical Definition
kinetic
adjective
kī-
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