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aliyah

noun

Simple meaning

The honor of being called up to the reading desk in the synagogue to read from the Torah.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhleeuh

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

əˈliə

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. judaism

    The honor of being called up to the reading desk in the synagogue to read from the Torah

    “He was called on for an aliyah.”

  2. countable

    One of the major waves of immigration of Jews to Israel.

  3. judaismcountable

    The calling up of someone to the bimah for the reading of the Torah.

  4. Alternative letter-case form of aliyah.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The honor of being called up to the reading desk in the synagogue to read from the Torah

Used this way, aliyah is a common word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“He was called on for an aliyah.”
Emotional tone
Slightly positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Common
Connotation
Positive and appreciative
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use aliyah

  • “He was called on for an aliyah.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

youth aliyahsecond aliyahfirst aliyahaliyah betthird aliyahmade aliyahmake aliyahmaking aliyah

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.