Sigmatism

//ˈsɪɡməˌtɪzəm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A lisp. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    A defective pronunciation of sibilant sounds. countable, uncountable

    "The flaw in pronouncing a sibilant S, which speech therapists call sigmatism, can follow even minor changes to the way the tongue aligns with the teeth."

Synonyms

All synonyms
buzzeffervescencefizzfizzlehisshissing

Example

More examples

"The flaw in pronouncing a sibilant S, which speech therapists call sigmatism, can follow even minor changes to the way the tongue aligns with the teeth."

Etymology

From sigma + -ism. sigmat- is the stem form of sigma, as seen in sigmatic.

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