nebular

nebula

the Crab Nebula, photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2005

neb·u·la

 (nĕb′yə-lə)

n. pl. neb·u·lae (-lē′) or neb·u·las

1. Astronomy

a. A diffuse cloud of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness depending on the way the mass absorbs or reflects incident light or emits its own light.

b. A galaxy. No longer in technical use.

2. Medicine

a. A cloudy spot on the cornea.

b. A liquid preparation for use in a nebulizer.

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[Middle English nebule, cloud, mist, from Latin nebula; see nebh- in Indo-European roots.]

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neb′u·lar adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	nebular - of or relating to or resembling a nebula; "the nebular hypothesis of the origin of the solar system" nebulous astronomy, uranology - the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole
	2.	nebular - resembling a cloud cloudlike cloudy - full of or covered with clouds; "cloudy skies"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

Translations

nebulare