dichotomous
/daɪˈkɑ.tə.məs/adjective
dichotomous is spelled D-I-C-H-O-T-O-M-O-U-S: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, dichotomous means “Dividing or branching into two mutually exclusive pieces” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dichotomous?
| Letters | 11: D-I-C-H-O-T-O-M-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,913th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dichotomous?
Dichotomous appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dichotomous?
- UK /daɪˈkɒt.ə.məs/
- US /daɪˈkɑ.tə.məs/
- US [daɪˈkɑ.ɾə.məs]
Dichotomous has 4 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-dichotomous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with dichotomous?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dichotomous from its last stressed vowel (/ɑtəməs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does dichotomous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Dividing or branching into two mutually exclusive pieces.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dichotomous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense dividing or branching into two pieces:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dichotomous come from?
From Late Latin dichotomos, from Ancient Greek διχότομος (dikhótomos, “cut in half”). By surface analysis, dichotomy + -ous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).