retinal
/ˈɹɛt.ən.əl/adjective, noun
retinal is spelled R-E-T-I-N-A-L: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, retinal means “Of or pertaining to the retina” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in retinal?
| Letters | 7: R-E-T-I-N-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 retinal?
Retinal appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd 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 retinal?
- UK /ˈɹɛt.ɪn.əl/
- US /ˈɹɛt.ən.əl/
- US /ˈɹɛt.nəl/
As a noun (“A yellow to orange aldehyde derived from vitamin A that is…”): /ˈɹɛt.əˌnæl/, /ˈɹɛt.əˌnɔl/.
Retinal has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-retinal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with retinal?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as retinal (/ɛtənəl/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: reliant, latrine.
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 retinal
- retinals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does retinal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to the retina.
noun
- 1
A yellow to orange aldehyde derived from vitamin A that is formed from rhodopsin by the action of light and in combination with proteins forms the visual pigments of the retinal rods and cones.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Retinal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of or pertaining to the retina:
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 retinal come from?
From retina + -al (“of or pertaining to”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).