polar
polar — adjective
1. connected with Earth's far northern or southern end, or with the icy land and se
connected with Earth's far northern or southern end, or with the icy land and sea around those points.
Scientists tracked polar ice melting near Greenland last summer.
collocation: polar ice
A polar research ship left Norway before the winter storms.
common before nouns: polar research ship
The museum opened a polar science hall with whale bones and ice maps.
Lina's grandfather spent two years at a polar station in Antarctica.
The guide showed us polar bear fur in the Arctic display.
- Arctic
only for the northern polar region
- Antarctic
only for the southern polar region
- far-northern
descriptive phrase for places very near the North Pole
- equatorial
connected with the hot area around the equator
- tropical
connected with warm regions near the equator
用法筆記
Usually comes before nouns such as 'ice', 'bear', 'region', 'research', and 'station'. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense is about Earth's cold end regions, not a mathematics term.
常見錯誤
2. describing two people, ideas, or things that stand at totally different ends, wi
describing two people, ideas, or things that stand at totally different ends, with no important similarity between them.
My twin cousins are polar opposites in both dress and taste.
fixed phrase: be polar opposites
At the town meeting, the two plans offered polar opposite answers to rising rents.
common before nouns: polar opposite answer
Lena's quiet study habits are the polar opposite of Max's.
The couple's views on money remain polar opposites after thirty years of marriage.
Ben's jokes and Iris's poems create polar opposite moods in class.
- opposite
broader and weaker; two things can be opposite without being extreme
- contrary
formal; often used for opinions or advice that go against each other
- diametrically opposed
formal and very strong, close in force to 'polar opposite'
- similar
sharing important features
- compatible
able to exist or work well together
文法句型
be the polar opposite of somebody/something
be polar opposites
用法筆記
Mostly used in the fixed phrase 'the polar opposite of' or as 'be polar opposites'. Stronger than simply saying two things are different.
常見錯誤
3. used in mathematics for things based on a fixed point called a pole, such as pol
used in mathematics for things based on a fixed point called a pole, such as polar coordinates, a polar axis, or points on a sphere.
The class learned polar coordinates before starting the graphing project.
common collocation: polar coordinates
Dr. Chen used a polar equation to describe the spiral shell.
common collocation: polar equation
In Figure 6, the textbook marked the polar axis from point O outward.
In the globe diagram, each polar point lay at one end of the diameter.
Students plotted the flower shape with polar coordinates, not x and y.
- radial
partly overlaps in geometry, but focuses on lines going out from a centre
- coordinate-based
broad descriptive phrase, not a precise technical equivalent
- Cartesian
describes the x-y coordinate system used instead of the polar one
用法筆記
Mostly appears in technical expressions such as 'polar coordinates', 'polar axis', and 'polar equation'. Distinguish from sense 1: that sense is geographical, while this one belongs to geometry.
常見錯誤
polar — noun
1. in geometry, a polar is a line connected with a chosen point and a circle. It cr
in geometry, a polar is a line connected with a chosen point and a circle. It crosses the line from that point to the circle's centre at a right angle.
In geometry class, Maya drew the polar for point P outside the circle.
technical pattern: the polar for point P
The teacher showed how the polar meets the centre line at a right angle.
describes the line's 90-degree relation
Each problem asked students to find the polar of a marked point.
On the board, Mr. Lin labelled the new line the polar of point A.
- polar line
the fuller two-word term used in some geometry materials
- pole-related line
plain-English paraphrase rather than a standard technical name
文法句型
the polar of a point
用法筆記
Mostly used in geometry lessons or textbooks, often in the pattern 'the polar of [point]'. Distinguish from adjective sense 3: this sense names the line itself.