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centripetal

Centripetal is an adjective describing a force that brings things toward the center, not unlike the force of a black hole.

Centripetal is often confused with the word centrifugal. They may begin the same way, but they mean the exact opposite. Centrifugal is the force that moves things outward. You might remember that centripetal means to move things in, because the petals on a flower all begin in the middle.

DEFINITIONS OF: centripetal

1

adj tending to move toward a center

“centripetal force”
Synonyms
inward-developing
toward an axis, as in a sunflower; the oldest flowers are near the edge, the youngest in the center
inward-moving
moving or directed toward the center or axis, especially when spinning or traveling in a curve
Antonyms:
centrifugal
tending to move away from a center
outward-developing
away from an axis, as in a flower cluster in which the oldest flowers are in the center, the youngest near the edge
outward-moving
moving or directed away from center, especially when spinning or traveling in a curve
show more antonyms...

adj tending to unify

Synonyms:
unifying
centralising, centralizing
tending to draw to a central point

adj of a nerve fiber or impulse originating outside and passing toward the central nervous system

Synonyms:
receptive, sensory
afferent
of nerves and nerve impulses; conveying sensory information from the sense organs to the CNS
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