polyphone
noun
Simple meaning
A letter that has two or more pronunciations.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pahlihfohnIPA pronunciation (US)
pɑlɪfoʊn
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 letter that has two or more pronunciations
“C' is a polyphone because it is pronounced like `k' in `car' but like `s' in `cell.”
A letter, or combination of letters, that can be pronounced in two or more different ways
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: A letter that has two or more pronunciations
Used this way, polyphone is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“C' is a polyphone because it is pronounced like `k' in `car' but like `s' in `cell.”
- 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 polyphone
- “C' is a polyphone because it is pronounced like `k' in `car' but like `s' in `cell.”noun
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Having two or more phonetic values.
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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.