imam
noun
Simple meaning
A Shi'ite Muslim leader descended from the prophet Muhammad and functioning as his spiritual successor.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
eyemamSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈaɪmæm
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
usually capitalized
A Shi'ite Muslim leader descended from the prophet Muhammad and functioning as his spiritual successor.
islam
The man who leads prayers in a mosque; for Shiites an imam is a recognized authority on Islamic theology and law and a spiritual guide
islam
One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque.
Twelver Shi'ism
One of the Twelve imams, descendants of Muhammad from the seventh to ninth centuries CE who lived exemplary lives.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A Shi'ite Muslim leader descended from the prophet Muhammad and functioning as his spiritual successor.
Used this way, imam is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Successful and accomplished
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.