trisyllabic

/ˌtɹaɪ.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/

//ˌtɹaɪ.sɪˈlæb.ɪk// adj

"trisyllabic" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“trisyllabic” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - having three syllables

Corpus desk

Index EN-trisyllabic · trisyllabic · English

trisyllabic · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for trisyllabic
PropertyValue
Headwordtrisyllabic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌtɹaɪ.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “trisyllabic” in English

trisyllabicranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

trisyllabic is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌtɹaɪ.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "having three syllables".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for trisyllabic, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From tri- + syllabic. The correct English form is trisyllabic, spelled T-R-I-S-Y-L-L-A-B-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    having three syllables

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how trisyllabic appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] how many nonelitist Americans can, without undue difficulty, read as many as a thousand consecutive words of small print, some of which may be trisyllabic?

Etymology

From tri- + syllabic.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "trisyllabic"?
"trisyllabic" is spelled T-R-I-S-Y-L-L-A-B-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌtɹaɪ.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/.
What does "trisyllabic" mean?
As an adjective, "trisyllabic" means: having three syllables
How do you pronounce "trisyllabic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "trisyllabic" is /ˌtɹaɪ.sɪˈlæb.ɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "trisyllabic"?
From tri- + syllabic. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list