Syllabic

//sɪˈlæb.ɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A syllabic sound.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of, relating to, or consisting of a syllable or syllables.

    "Most final consonants have been lost, resulting in a tonal language with a rich consonantal and vocalic inventory, but with a relatively simple syllabic structure.."

  2. 2
    Pronounced with every syllable distinct.
  3. 3
    Designating a sound that is or can be the most sonorant segment of a syllable, as a vowel or a resonant. In the word riddle ([ɹɪdl̩]), the two syllabic sounds are [ɪ] and [l̩].
  4. 4
    Of, or being a form of verse, based on the number of syllables in a line rather than on the arrangement of accents or quantities.
Adjective
  1. 1
    (of speech sounds) forming the nucleus of a syllable wordnet
  2. 2
    consisting of a syllable or syllables wordnet
  3. 3
    (of verse) having lines based on number of syllables rather than on rhythmical arrangement of stresses or quantities wordnet
  4. 4
    consisting of or using a syllabary wordnet
  5. 5
    of or relating to syllables wordnet

Example

More examples

"Your language has very ambiguous syllabic boundaries."

Etymology

From Medieval Latin syllabicus, from Ancient Greek συλλαβικός (sullabikós), from συλλαβή (sullabḗ, “syllable”).

Related phrases

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