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Aspiration

//ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of aspiring or ardently desiring; an ardent wish or desire, chiefly after what is elevated or spiritual (with common adjunct adpositions being to and of). countable, uncountable

    "Riley has an aspiration to become a doctor."

  2. 2
    The action of aspirating. countable, uncountable
  3. 3
    the act of inhaling; the drawing in of air (or other gases) as in breathing wordnet
  4. 4
    A burst of air that follows the release of some consonants. countable, uncountable

    "In Cambodian, aspiration is phonemic, so /p/ and /pʰ/ are different phonemes."

  5. 5
    a will to succeed wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    The withdrawal of fluid, tissue, or other substance, usually through a hollow needle from a body cavity, cyst, or tumor. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    a manner of articulation involving an audible release of breath wordnet
  3. 8
    The silent breaking h beginning some French words, largely of Germanic origin. French, countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    a cherished desire wordnet
  5. 10
    The process of lenition involving writing a digraph with h, especially at the beginning of a word. countable, uncountable

Etymology

Etymology 1

From aspire + -ation.

Etymology 2

From aspirate + -ion or borrowed from Latin aspīrātiō.

See also for "aspiration"

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