knell
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To ring a bell slowly.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
nehlIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈnɛl
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.
verb
intransitive
To ring a bell slowly, especially for a funeral; to toll.
transitive
To signal or proclaim something (especially a death) by ringing a bell.
transitive
To summon by, or as if by, ringing a bell.
noun
The sound of a bell knelling; a toll (particularly one signalling a death).
The sound of a bell rung slowly to announce a death or a funeral or the end of something
figuratively
A sign of the end or demise of something or someone.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To ring a bell slowly, especially for a funeral; to toll.
Used this way, knell 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
- No strong connotation
- 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.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An omen of death or destruction.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.