lunar

IPA/ˈluːnə(r)/
KK[lˈunɚ]IPA/ˈluːnər/

lunar — adjective

  • lunarpositive
  • more lunarcomparative
  • most lunarsuperlative

1. connected with or happening on the moon — for example, the surface of the moon,

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

connected with or happening on the moon — for example, the surface of the moon, a journey to the moon, or the moon's regular changes in appearance.

Example

Darius checked his phone for the exact time of the next lunar eclipse.

collocation: lunar eclipse

Kabir's grandfather still uses an old Chinese lunar calendar to plan the harvest.

collocation: lunar calendar

Common collocations
  • lunar eclipse
  • lunar calendar
  • lunar surface
  • lunar mission
  • lunar module
  • lunar phase
  • lunar landing
  • lunar new year
  • lunar rover
Synonyms
  • moonlike

    descriptive adjective usable after linking verbs; less precise than 'lunar'

  • selenian

    very rare technical term from Greek Selene (moon goddess); not used in everyday English

Antonyms
  • solar

    relating to the sun — the natural contrast pair (lunar eclipse vs. solar eclipse)

  • terrestrial

    relating to Earth — contrasts with 'lunar' in space-science contexts

Usage Note

Lunar is a classifying adjective — it places things into the category 'of the moon' and is never used in comparative or superlative forms (❌ more lunar, ❌ the most lunar). It appears almost exclusively before nouns (attributive position), not after linking verbs (❌ The landscape was lunar). If you need a descriptive adjective after a verb, use 'moonlike' instead.

Common Mistakes

The lunar' (as a noun meaning the moon itself).
The lunar surface' or simply 'the moon.
'lunar' is an adjective, never a noun in standard English.
The landscape was very lunar.
The landscape looked like a lunar landscape.
'lunar' is a classifying adjective and cannot be graded with 'very'.

Word family

  • lunate
    adjectiveC2
  • lunacy
    nounC2
  • lunatic
    adjectiveC1
  • sublunar
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These four words all relate to celestial bodies but serve different purposes. 'Lunar' is the standard English adjective meaning 'of the moon' and is used for scientific, calendrical, and space-exploration contexts (lunar mission, lunar eclipse, lunar calendar). 'Moonlike' is a descriptive adjective that can follow a linking verb ('The landscape was moonlike') and emphasises visual resemblance rather than formal association — it is much less common than 'lunar' and sounds literary. 'Selenian' is a rare, technical adjective from Greek 'Selene' (the moon goddess) sometimes used in geology and astronomy to mean 'of or characteristic of the moon'; most English speakers will not recognise it. 'Solar' is the natural contrast: it means 'of the sun' and pairs with 'lunar' in phrases like 'solar eclipse' vs. 'lunar eclipse'. Where a learner needs the everyday adjective for anything moon-related, 'lunar' is almost always the right choice. Use 'moonlike' when describing appearance after a verb, and avoid 'selenian' except in specialist writing.

lunar ↗moonlikeseleniansolar ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • lunar eclipse
  • lunar calendar
  • lunar surface
  • lunar mission
  • lunar module
  • lunar phase
  • lunar landscape
  • lunar rover
  • lunar landing
  • lunar new year

Phrases

  • the far side of the lunar surface
  • the first lunar landing
  • phases of the lunar cycle

Prepositions

  • during a lunar eclipse
  • on the lunar surface
  • of the lunar calendar

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanLatinEnglish

The word comes directly from Latin 'lunaris', meaning 'of the moon'. This was formed from 'lūna' (the moon), which itself probably goes back to a prehistoric root meaning 'to shine', related to Latin 'lux' (light) and 'lucēre' (to shine). English borrowed 'lunar' in the early 1600s as a scholarly adjective. The sense that the moon influenced human madness gave us related words 'lunatic' and 'lunacy' from the same Latin root.