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limitation

noun

Simple meaning

Being limited or restricted.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lihmihtayshuhn

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

lɪmɪˈteɪʃən

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

  1. The quality of being limited or restricted

    “It is a good plan but it has serious limitations.”

  2. An act of limiting or restricting (as by regulation)

  3. The act of limiting or the state of being limited.

  4. A restriction; a boundary, real or metaphorical, caused by some thing or some circumstance.

  5. A principle that limits the extent of something

  6. An imperfection or shortcoming that limits something's use or value.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The quality of being limited or restricted

Used this way, limitation is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“It is a good plan but it has serious limitations.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
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 limitation

  • “It is a good plan but it has serious limitations.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Time

limitation periodlimitation act

Other combinations

arms limitationmajor limitationserious limitationfamily limitationimportant limitation

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • limiternounPerson or profession · specialist

    A nonlinear electronic circuit whose output is limited in amplitude.

  • limitlessadjectiveDerived adjective

    Having no limits in range or scope.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • auto limitationnounCompound term

    Social control achieved as a manifestation of self-will or general consent.

  • statute of limitationsnounCompound term

    A statute prescribing the time period during which legal action can be taken.

  • strategic arms limitation talksnounCompound term

    Negotiations between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics opened in 1969 in Helsinki designed to limit both countries' stock of nuclear weapons.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: being limited or restricted

restriction

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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.