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Glite Dictionary
to syllabify

to syllabify

6.6
To divide a word into parts that each have a vowel sound
  • verb
  • /ˈsɪl.ə.baɪ.faɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : silabificar
  • You can syllabify the word 'photograph' by saying it as 'pho-to-graph'.

Examples

  • In order to help children read, teachers often syllabify difficult words.

  • The software can automatically syllabify any text you enter.

  • Linguists sometimes syllabify foreign words before analyzing their structure.

  • Please syllabify the word for me.

  • The teacher syllabified the difficult words in class.

  • Teachers often syllabify difficult words to help children improve their reading skills.

  • Linguists syllabify unfamiliar words to illustrate their phonetic structure.

Synonyms

to syllabicate
vsto syllabify
  • Specialized
7.5

To split a word into parts you can say separately

is the same action without extra emphasis on method
to syllabize
vsto syllabify
  • Specialized
8.1

To say a word in separate sound parts out loud

focuses on simple division rather than pronouncing each syllable

How Formal

to syllabify
  • Specialized
6.6
to syllabize
  • Specialized
8.1

Surface Forms

syllabify infinitive
syllabified past
syllabified past participle
syllabifying present participle
syllabifies third person singular

Morphology

syllabify = syllable (transparent) = syllab + ify

Standard verb formation from 'syllable' with the causative/resultative suffix '-ify'; meaning 'make into syllables' is directly derived despite a minor orthographic truncation.

Etymology

Syllabify comes from syllable, a word part that is a small 'unit of sound', and the ending -ify, which means 'make', as in simplify. So, to syllabify is to 'make' the syllables visible, in other words to divide a word into its syllables.