constellation
noun
Simple meaning
Any of the 88 regions of the sky officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union, including all stars and celestial bodies in the region.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kahnstuhlayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kɑnstəˈleɪʃən
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
modern astronomy
Any of the 88 regions of the sky officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union, including all stars and celestial bodies in the region.
astronomy
An arbitrary formation of stars perceived as a figure (especially one from mythology) or pattern, or a division of the sky including it, especially one officially recognized by astronomers; an asterism.
figurative
A configuration or grouping of related things.
A wide, seemingly unlimited, assortment.
figurative
An array of marks or items.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A configuration or grouping of related things.
Used this way, constellation is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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What Does It Mean Here?
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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.