- having several, esp. four or more, syllables
- characterized by polysyllables
Origin of polysyllabic
Medieval Latin polysyllabus from Classical Greek polysyllabos from poly-, poly- + syllab?, syllable + -icAlso pol·y·syl·lab′i·cal
polysyllabic
pol·y·syl·lab·icWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"Polysyllabic." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Polysyllabic.
APA Style
Polysyllabic. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Polysyllabic
polysyllabic
adjective
- Having more than two and usually more than three syllables.
- Characterized by words having more than three syllables.
Related Forms:
- pol′y·syl·lab′i·cal·ly
adverb
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"Polysyllabic." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Polysyllabic.
APA Style
Polysyllabic. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Polysyllabic
Adjective
(not comparable)
- (of a word) Having more than one syllable; having multiple or many syllables.
- "Antidisestablishmentarianism" definitely qualifies as a polysyllabic word.
- "˜Polysyllabic' is 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.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"Polysyllabic." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Polysyllabic.
APA Style
Polysyllabic. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Polysyllabic
