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subsidence

noun

Simple meaning

A gradual sinking to a lower level.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

suhbsyduhns

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

səbˈsaɪdəns

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. geology

    A gradual sinking to a lower level

  2. geology

    A sinking of something to a lower level, especially of part of the surface of the Earth due to underground excavation, seismic activity or underground or ground water depletion, or the rocks in a geological basin, due to continued deposition from above.

  3. The process of becoming less active or severe.

Word at a Glance

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

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A gradual sinking to a lower level

Used this way, subsidence is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.

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

  • Science
  • Academic writing
  • 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.

Gradual / sinking

surface subsidencerapid subsidenceground subsidencegradual subsidencemining subsidence

Other combinations

land subsidenceslow subsidencetectonic subsidence

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • subsidiarynounDerived noun

    An assistant subject to the authority or control of another.

  • subsidynounDerived noun

    A grant paid by a government to an enterprise that benefits the public.

  • subsidizeverbDerived verb

    Support through subsidies.

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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.