How to Use tectonic in a Sentence

tectonic

adjective
Definition of tectonicnext
Synonyms for tectonicnext
  • There has been a recent tectonic shift in voting patterns.
  • The region sits on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau where tectonic plates meet.
    — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2022
  • For Biden, the real thrust of the visit was more tectonic.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 15 July 2022
  • That’s where two of the tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s crust meet up and slide alongside each other.
    — Jackie Appel, Popular Mechanics, 18 Apr. 2023
  • The vertical fault vents the fluids from the plate boundary – the megathrust fault where the tectonic plates meet – to the seafloor.
    — Gwozniac, oregonlive, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Now, in a very short time, a tectonic shift has occurred.
    — Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2022
  • The Earth is covered by 15 to 20 shifting tectonic plates that rest on the molten rock of its mantle.
    — Martin Finucane, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Oct. 2022
  • The Sunda and Australian tectonic plates collide here, which is what formed the Mentawais.
    — Michael Robinson Chavez, Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2023
  • The invention of the internet and the rise of ecommerce are the latest tectonic changes in the retail world.
    — Nick Kasmik, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2024
  • The small town sits on the tip of the rugged Kenai Peninsula, directly above where the tectonic plates meet.
    — Chuong Nguyen, Ars Technica, 27 Nov. 2023
  • These plates, called tectonic plates, can push against each other.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024
  • Earth's crust is made up of tectonic plates that are slowly moving, at about the same speed as a fingernail grows.
    — CBS News, 1 Dec. 2022
  • Earth’s crust is made up of tectonic plates that are slowly moving, at about the same speed as a fingernail grows.
    — Gabi Laske, The Conversation, 30 Nov. 2022
  • The simulations included the shift of the Earth’s tectonic plates.
    — Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 31 July 2023
  • But Hamas’ invasion does not change the tectonic shifts sweeping across the Middle East.
    — TIME, 15 Oct. 2023
  • New Zealand straddles the boundary of two tectonic plates and as a result is in a constant state of upheaval.
    — Bill Morris, Discover Magazine, 24 Apr. 2023
  • And then the tectonic plate shifts, and their work is suddenly delivered.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2023
  • The zone is made up of two main tectonic plates, whose convergence forms the Pacific Northwest.
    — Justin Klawans, The Week, 8 Mar. 2023
  • The pandemic caused tectonic shifts in the job market as workers young and old quit and searched for something better — in their work or in their life.
    — Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2022
  • The mountain formed from the sedate shifts of the nearby mid-Atlantic ridge, where the North American and African tectonic plates slowly pull apart.
    — Quanta Magazine, 4 Jan. 2024
  • The tectonic plates move, but their edges remain in place until this slip, when the stress overcomes the friction that normally holds them there.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
  • In the early decades of the 13th century, the great tectonic plates of Eurasian geopolitics shifted rapidly.
    — Nicholas Morton, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 July 2023
  • Chacon’s tectonic score groans like the ground rumbling under our feet.
    — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2022
  • How has your decision-making — and risk-taking — process changed alongside the tectonic shifts of the market?
    — Manori Ravindran, Variety, 14 Oct. 2022
  • Some industry watchers see the deal as a sign that the peninsula’s tectonic plates might be shifting again.
    — Zoe Glasser, Washington Post, 22 July 2023
  • The two teams haven’t met since 2011, with the series derailed by the ever-shifting tectonic plates of major college football.
    — Tim Bielik, cleveland, 1 Sep. 2022
  • Most oceanic islands are volcanic, formed by magma that wells up as tectonic plates drift over hot spots in the Earth’s mantle.
    — Frank Hulley-Jones, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
  • The remains ended up there after tectonic plates collided and formed rocky folds that pushed the ancient seafloor high up within the Alps.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 30 Apr. 2022
  • TikTokers could get used to longer videos if creators succeed with the format, though that would amount to a tectonic shift in the content that defines the platform.
    — Thomas Germain / Gizmodo, Quartz, 6 Feb. 2024
  • People inside the country speak of a tectonic shift in the population.
    — Karl Vick, Time, 28 Oct. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tectonic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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