polysyllabic
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌpɒ.lɪ.sɪˈlæ.bɪk/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˌpɔ.lɪ.sɪˈlæ.bɪk/
- (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˌpɑ.li.sɪˈlæ.bɪk/
- Rhymes: -æbɪk
Audio (CA) (file) - Hyphenation: po‧ly‧syl‧la‧bic
Adjective
polysyllabic (not comparable)
- (of a word) Having more than one syllable; having multiple or many syllables.
- "Antidisestablishmentarianism" definitely qualifies as a polysyllabic word.
- (of spoken or written language) Characterized by or consisting of words having numerous syllables.
- I have a particularly off-putting predilection for the utilization of ponderously polysyllabic linguistic constructions.
Usage notes
Authoritative sources disagree concerning the precise number of syllables needed for a word to count as polysyllabic. The references cited below variously stipulate anywhere from more than one syllable to four or more. In general usage, a polysyllabic word is a word which is regarded as lengthy and polysyllabic writing or speech is often regarded as elaborate, overly lengthy, or excessively complex.
Synonyms
- (of a word): multisyllabic
Antonyms
Related terms
Translations
having more than one syllable
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References
- “polysyllabic”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- "polysyllabic" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
- “polysyllabic”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)
- Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
- polysyllabic, multisyllabic, multi-syllable, multisyllable at Google Ngram Viewer
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