polysyllabic
po·ly·syl·la·bic/ˌpɑ.li.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/adjective, noun
polysyllabic is spelled P-O-L-Y-S-Y-L-L-A-B-I-C: 12 letters and 5 syllables (po·ly·syl·la·bic). It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, polysyllabic means “Having more than one syllable; having multiple or many syllables” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in polysyllabic?
| Letters | 12: P-O-L-Y-S-Y-L-L-A-B-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: po·ly·syl·la·bic |
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 122,704th 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 polysyllabic?
Polysyllabic appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th 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 polysyllabic?
- UK /ˌpɒl.ɪ.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/
- US /ˌpɑ.li.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/
- Canada /ˌpɒl.i.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/
Polysyllabic has 5 syllables, split po·ly·syl·la·bic in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-NaomiAmethyst-polysyllabic.wav, En-polysyllabic.opus, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with polysyllabic?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as polysyllabic from its last stressed vowel (/æbɪk/):
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).
Forms of polysyllabic
- polysyllabics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does polysyllabic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having more than one syllable; having multiple or many syllables.
"Antidisestablishmentarianism" definitely qualifies as a polysyllabic word.
- 2
Characterized by or consisting of words having numerous syllables.
I have a particularly off-putting predilection for the utilization of ponderously polysyllabic linguistic constructions.
noun
- 1
A word having more than one syllable
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Polysyllabic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having more than one syllable:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | polysyllabique |
| German | vielsilbig, mehrsilbig |
| Portuguese | polissilábico, polissílabo |
| Spanish | polisílabo |
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 polysyllabic come from?
From poly- + syllabic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).