interglacial
noun
in·ter·gla·cial
ˌin-tər-ˈglā-shəl 
: a warm period between glacial epochs
interglacial
adjective
Examples of interglacial in a Sentence
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Poised at the end of a humdrum interglacial, in an otherwise chilly corner of Earth history, industrial civilization is emitting carbon dioxide at a clip 10 times faster than the apocalyptic volcanoes of the end-Permian mass extinction.
—
Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Our planet has always undergone cycles of warm and cold, ice ages and interglacials.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2025
For the preceding two and a half million years, through the Pleistocene Epoch, the planet’s climate fluctuated between frozen stretches, called glacials, and warm interglacials.
—Zach St. George, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
But if the dating proves correct, such an attribution is unlikely, as the sediments just above and below the impressions date to a period called the last interglacial, when the climate in the region was relatively warm and wet.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Sep. 2020
But in the warm periods between ice ages, known as interglacials, scientists assume the Atlantic circulation is stable.
—Paul Voosen, Science | AAAS, 26 Mar. 2020
Today’s level is 1.45 times higher than that of a typical interglacial.
—The Economist, 21 Sep. 2019
From the left, these are the early Eocene Epoch; the mid-Pliocene; the last interglacial, or LIG; the mid-Holocene; the pre-industrial period; the historical period; and projections for the future (at extreme right).
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 14 Dec. 2018
Just like home Those ratios line up with climate models that suggest a wetter, more hospitable environment in Arabia, courtesy of a shift in Africa’s monsoons during periods of warmer global climate called interglacials.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 29 Oct. 2018
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Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Our planet has always undergone cycles of warm and cold, ice ages and interglacials.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2025
For the preceding two and a half million years, through the Pleistocene Epoch, the planet’s climate fluctuated between frozen stretches, called glacials, and warm interglacials.
—Zach St. George, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
But if the dating proves correct, such an attribution is unlikely, as the sediments just above and below the impressions date to a period called the last interglacial, when the climate in the region was relatively warm and wet.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Sep. 2020
But in the warm periods between ice ages, known as interglacials, scientists assume the Atlantic circulation is stable.
—Paul Voosen, Science | AAAS, 26 Mar. 2020
Today’s level is 1.45 times higher than that of a typical interglacial.
—The Economist, 21 Sep. 2019
From the left, these are the early Eocene Epoch; the mid-Pliocene; the last interglacial, or LIG; the mid-Holocene; the pre-industrial period; the historical period; and projections for the future (at extreme right).
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 14 Dec. 2018
Just like home Those ratios line up with climate models that suggest a wetter, more hospitable environment in Arabia, courtesy of a shift in Africa’s monsoons during periods of warmer global climate called interglacials.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 29 Oct. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Interglacial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interglacial. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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