pronoun
noun
Simple meaning
A function word that is used in place of a noun or noun phrase.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
prohnownSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɹoʊnaʊn
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
grammar
A function word that is used in place of a noun or noun phrase
grammar
A type of word that refers anaphorically to a noun or noun phrase, but which cannot ordinarily be preceded by a determiner and rarely takes an attributive adjective.
chiefly in the pluralspecifically
Ellipsis of preferred pronoun, any of the third-person pronouns by which a person prefers to be referred to, typically reflecting their gender identity; often communicated as a subject–object pair.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A function word that is used in place of a noun or noun phrase
Used this way, pronoun is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a grammar or language-study use: it describes how language works, so it appears in teaching and reference writing.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
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.
Ellipsis
Other combinations
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A pronoun that refers to an antecedent.
A pronoun expressing a distinction of person.
A pronoun or pronominal phrase (as `each other') that expresses a mutual action or relationship between the individuals indicated in the plural subject.
A personal pronoun compounded with -self to show the agent's action affects the agent.
A pronoun (as `that' or `which' or `who') that introduces a relative clause referring to some antecedent.
A pronoun that points out an intended referent.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Related Learning
Guides that use this word in context.
Quick Lessons
Who vs. Whom: A Simple Test That Works
Learn when to use who and when to use whom with a quick substitution test, plus examples and common mistakes.
Quick Lessons
Its vs. It’s: The Apostrophe Rule That Trips Everyone Up
A simple, lasting way to remember the difference between its and it's, with examples and a foolproof substitution test.
Grammar
Me vs. I: Why “Between You and I” Is Wrong
A simple drop-the-other-person test that settles me versus I every time, including the overcorrections that sound formal but aren’t.
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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.