breathing

noun

Simple meaning

Any gentle influence or operation.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

breething

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US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbɹiðɪŋ

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

Any gentle influence or operation; inspiration.
A diacritical mark indicating aspiration or lack thereof.
Aspiration; secret prayer.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency: Moderately Common
Typical Use: Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Any gentle influence or operation; inspiration.

Used this way, breathing is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Slightly positive
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Mild
How common: Moderately 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 breathing

“The boy was disappointed to find only skeletons instead of living breathing dinosaurs.”adjective

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

deep breathingbreathing spaceheavy breathingbreathing apparatusdifficulty breathingbreathing pattern

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

breathnounBase word
The process of taking in and expelling air during breathing.
breatheverbBase word
Draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

breathernounPerson or profession
A short respite.
breathlessadjectiveDerived adjective
Not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

breathing apparatusnounCompound term
A device that facilitates breathing in cases of respiratory failure.
breathing devicenounCompound term
A device that facilitates breathing in cases of respiratory failure.
breathing innounCompound term
The act of inhaling.
breathing machinenounCompound term
A device that facilitates breathing in cases of respiratory failure.
breathing outnounCompound term
The act of expelling air from the lungs.
breathing placenounCompound term
A short respite.

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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.