Upthrusting

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Moving or pushing in an upward direction, often with force or suddenness
2. The action of something being pushed or rising upward from below
3. Describing a motion or force that causes an object to elevate or thrust up

Etymology: "Upthrusting" is the present participle of "upthrust", which is formed from "up" and "thrust". Both parts are plain English words with long pedigrees. "Up" comes from Old English "up", and it has ancestors that reach back through Proto-Germanic to a common Indo-European root, so the element is about as native as English vocabulary gets. "Thrust", likewise native, carries the sense of driving something forward or inward with force, and the compound simply adds the direction. The word is a transparent compound rather than a coinage with a story behind it. Its literal sense, pushing upward with force, is exactly what the two parts say together, which is why it reads so clearly. Its usefulness lies mostly in describing geology and landscape, where rising rock or earth is pictured as pressing up from below.

Synonyms: uplifting, raising

Antonyms: downthrusting