unison
/ˈjunɪsən/noun
unison is spelled U-N-I-S-O-N: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting UNISON, the name). As a noun, unison means “Identical pitch between two notes or sounds; the simultaneous playing of notes of identical pitch (or separated by one or more octaves)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of unison is unisons.
How many letters and syllables are in unison?
| Letters | 6: U-N-I-S-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,356th 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 unison?
Unison appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes UNISON, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unison?
- /ˈjunɪsən/
- /ˈjunɪzən/
Unison 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-unison.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with unison?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as unison.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: nonius.
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 unison
- unisons plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unison mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Identical pitch between two notes or sounds; the simultaneous playing of notes of identical pitch (or separated by one or more octaves).
The unison has a pitch ratio of 1:1.
- 2
A sound or note having the same pitch as another, especially when used as the base note for an interval; a unison string.
- 3
The state of being in harmony or agreement; harmonious agreement or togetherness, synchronisation.
Everyone moved in unison, but the sudden change in weight distribution capsized the boat.
- 4
Two or more voices speaking or singing the same words together.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unison in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 unison come from?
From Middle English unisoun, from Middle French unisson, from Medieval Latin ūnisonus (“having the same sound”), from ūni- + sonus (“sound”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).