ekphrasis
/ˈɛkfɹəsɪs/noun
ekphrasis is spelled E-K-P-H-R-A-S-I-S: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ekphrasis means “A clear, intense, self-contained argument or verbal description of an object, especially of an artwork” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ekphrasis is ekphrases.
How many letters and syllables are in ekphrasis?
| Letters | 9: E-K-P-H-R-A-S-I-S |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 42 million words; the 199,120th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is ekphrasis?
Ekphrasis appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th 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 ekphrasis?
- /ˈɛkfɹəsɪs/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ekphrasis.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ekphrasis
- ekphrases plural
- ecphrasis
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ekphrasis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A clear, intense, self-contained argument or verbal description of an object, especially of an artwork.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ekphrasis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense description of an object or artwork:
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 ekphrasis come from?
From Ancient Greek ἔκφρασις (ékphrasis, “description”), from ἐκφράζω (ekphrázō, “I describe”), from ἐκ (ek, “out, ex-”) + φράζω (phrázō, “I explain, point out”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).