CS Knowledge Base

From poly- + syllabic.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌpɒl.ɪ.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/
• (General American, Atlantic Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌpɑ.li.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/

  • Audio (North Carolina):

    (file)

• (Canada, Boston, Maine) IPA^(key): /ˌpɒl.i.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/

  • Audio (Canada, non-native speaker); [ˌpɒɫ.i.sɪˈlæb.ɪk]:

    (file)

• (Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌpɔl.ɪ.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/
• Rhymes: -æbɪk
• Hyphenation: po‧ly‧syl‧la‧bic

polysyllabic (not comparable)

1. (of a word) Having more than one syllable; having multiple or many syllables.

   "Antidisestablishmentarianism" definitely qualifies as a polysyllabic word.

2. (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.

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.

• (of a word): multisyllabic

• monosyllabic
• brachysyllabic

• polysyllable
• polysyllabicism
• polysyllabicity
• polysyllabism

polysyllabic (plural polysyllabics)

1. A word having more than one syllable

• “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”, in Google Books Ngram Viewer.