thermal

1. not comparablePertaining to heat or temperature.

   Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.

   2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200

2. not comparablefabricProviding efficient insulation so as to keep the body warm.
3. not comparableCaused or brought about by heat.
4. not comparablebusinessHaving a rough finish from treatment with a blowtorch.

plural thermals

1. climatologyA column of rising air in the lower atmosphere created by uneven heating of a planet's surface.

   The hawk had mounted its thermal by the time he got to the yard, flapping its wings violently against the updraft.

   2019, Chigozie Obioma, An Orchestra of Minorities, Abacus (2019), page 91

2. governmentFLIR.
3. nauticalthermocline.

present singular third person thermals · US participle present thermaling · UK participle present thermalling · US participle past thermaled · US past thermaled · UK participle past thermalled · UK past thermalled

1. businessTo create a rough finish on stone by treating it with a high-temperature blowtorch.
2. gliding; often in the present participle; gliding; often in the present participleTo fly an unpowered aircraft in a thermal (column of rising air).

1. A census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States.