Basic Details
Word: Martian
Part of Speech: Noun, adjective
Meaning: Relating to the planet Mars; in stories, a creature that is imagined to live on Mars.
Synonyms: alien, extraterrestrial
Antonyms: earthling, terrestrial
Word origin: Comes from Latin Martius, 'of Mars'.
How to Spell Martian
Syllables: Mar - tian
Tricky part: The ending sounds like shun but is spelt tian. Students also swap the i and a (martain).
Watch out for: Marshan, Martain, Marsian
Memory tip: Martian ends like Egyptian: both say shun and both write it as tian.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The rover has been sending back pictures of Martian rocks for years.
Example 2: In the comic, a friendly Martian lands in a paddy field in Assam.
Example 3: A Martian day is only a little longer than a day on Earth.
Fun Fact
Mars is named after the Roman god of war, and so is the month of March. India's Mangalyaan reached Mars orbit in 2014 on its first attempt.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
In the science-fiction film, a itnmara spaceship arrives from the red planet and lands in a field near Pune.
a) Maratha
b) Marathi
c) Martian
d) Mauritian
Show answer
c) Martian. A ship from the red planet is a Martian one; Mauritian needs a u and a second i, and Marathi and Maratha both need an h.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters:
Mar_i_n
a) s, a
b) t, e
c) t, o
d) t, a
Show answer
d) t, a. Like Egyptian, Martian writes its shun sound as tian, so t comes first and a after.
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to Martian as used in the sentence:
Scientists compared the Martian soil samples with ones from the Thar desert.
a) extraterrestrial
b) planetary
c) terrestrial
d) alien
Show answer
c) terrestrial. Martian means from Mars, and terrestrial means from Earth; alien and extraterrestrial mean from somewhere other than Earth.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A Martian landscape is one found ____.
a) under the sea
b) in a desert on Earth
c) on Mars
d) on the Moon
Show answer
c) on Mars
2. India's first mission to Mars is called ____.
a) Mangalyaan
b) Aryabhata
c) Chandrayaan
d) Gaganyaan
Show answer
a) Mangalyaan
