oasis
noun
Simple meaning
A fertile tract in a desert.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ohaysisSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
oʊˈeɪsɪs
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 fertile tract in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface)
A spring of fresh water, surrounded by a fertile region of vegetation, in a desert.
figuratively
A quiet, peaceful place or situation separated from surrounding noise or bustle.
figuratively
A place or situation of fruitfulness or abundance separated from surrounding barrenness or scarcity.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A fertile tract in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface)
Used this way, oasis 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 oasis
- “The park was an oasis of calm in the busy city center.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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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.