COMETARY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cometary mean? 

• COMETARY (adjective)
  The adjective COMETARY has 1 sense:

1. of or relating to or resembling a comet

  Familiarity information: COMETARY used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMETARY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to or resembling a comet

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Synonyms:

cometary; cometic

Pertainym:

comet ((astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit)

Derivation:

comet ((astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit)

 Context examples 

Although originally classified as a comet, observations from ESO and elsewhere revealed no signs of cometary activity after it passed closest to the Sun in September 2017.

(ESO Observations Show First Interstellar Asteroid is Like Nothing Seen Before, ESO)

C/2019 Q4 was established as being cometary due to its fuzzy appearance, which indicates that the object has a central icy body that is producing a surrounding cloud of dust and particles as it approaches the Sun and heats up.

(Newly Discovered Comet Is Likely Interstellar Visitor, NASA)