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lossy

adjective

Simple meaning

Of an electricity transmission line, subject to different forms of power loss.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lawsee

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlɔsi

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.

adjective

  1. electricity

    Of an electricity transmission line, subject to various forms of power loss.

  2. telecommunications

    Of a communication channel, subject to loss of signal strength.

  3. computing

    Of an algorithm for converting or compressing data, reducing the amount of information in data.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (electricity) Of an electricity transmission line, subject to various forms of power loss.

Used this way, lossy is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Slightly negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Critical or judgemental
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.

Communication / electricity

lossy line

Algorithm

lossy mediumlossy data

Other combinations

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • losslessadjectiveDerived adjective

    Characterized by or causing no dissipation of energy.

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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.