Participle

//ˈpɑɹtɪˌsɪpəl// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A form of a verb that may function as an adjective, noun or adverb. English has two types of participles: the present participle and the past participle. In other languages, there are others, such as future, perfect, and future perfect participles.
  2. 2
    a non-finite form of the verb; in English it is used adjectivally and to form compound tenses wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
adjectivaladjectiveadverbadverbialadversative conjunctionattributive

Example

More examples

"I'd like to ask a grammarian, isn't it possible to think of 'be + participle' like you do V C and such?"

Etymology

From Middle English participle, from Old French participle (1388), variant of participe, from Latin participium.

Related phrases

gerund-participlefuture perfectpast participlepresent participle

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.