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polysyllable

polysyllable

5.9
A word with more than one syllable
  • noun
  • /ˌpɑːlɪˈsɪbəl/
translation icon : polisílabo

Examples

  • I talk a lot because I love me some polysyllables.

    Blog text (2)
  • Chamberlain: the clean sound, the clipped-off consonants, the relaxed polysyllable.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • These studies of polysyllable production are consistent with other findings that children's articulatory coordination does not reach adult-like capabilities until late childhood.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The only polysyllable in the stanza, it also inverts the poem's iambic metrical pattern.

    Academic text (2017)
  • When they hear the word mentioned, their eyes glaze over: they have visions of white-haired old men with degrees spilling out of their ears, speaking in polysyllables and attempting to complicate simplicity.

    Blog text (20)
  • And to do this is a very different matter from gunning about for the circumplexious polysyllable. 39 Pound would seem to be talking about diction and Frost's penchant for monosyllables, but lingering here is a critique.

    Academic text (2016)
  • A polysyllable is any word that contains more than one syllable, such as 'computer' or 'intelligent.'

  • In English, understanding a polysyllable can greatly improve your vocabulary skills.

  • Many students find it challenging to pronounce a polysyllable like 'unbelievable' correctly.

Antonyms

2 6.3

A word with only one syllable

How Long

polysyllable
5.9
monosyllable
2 6.3

Surface Forms

polysyllable singular
polysyllables plural

Morphology

polysyllable = syllable (transparent) = poly + syllable

The meaning is directly built from 'poly-' meaning many and 'syllable' meaning a speech unit, so a learner can infer 'a word with many syllables'.

Etymology

The word polysyllable comes from the parts poly- meaning 'many' and syllable meaning 'a unit of sound in a word', just like polygon uses poly- for 'many'. So a polysyllable is a word with many syllables, which is why it means 'a word with more than one syllable'.