keynote
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A speech that sets the main theme of a conference or other gathering.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
keenohtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkinoʊt
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
A speech that sets the main theme of a conference or other gathering; a keynote speech or keynote address.
The principal theme in a speech or literary work
The main theme of a speech, a written work, or a conference.
verb
transitive
To deliver a speech that sets the main theme of a conference or other gathering.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A speech that sets the main theme of a conference or other gathering; a keynote speech or keynote address.
Used this way, keynote 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.
More ways to use keynote
- “Comfort keynotes this designer's Fall collection.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A speech setting forth the keynote.
A speech setting forth the keynote.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: speech that sets the main theme of a conference
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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.