tonsil
noun
Simple meaning
Any of different small masses of lymphoid tissues.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tahnsuhlIPA pronunciation (US)
tɑnsəl
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
anatomyimmunology
Any of various small masses of lymphoid tissues.
anatomyimmunology
One of the two tonsils that can be seen on the left and right sides at the back of the throat.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (anatomy, immunology) Any of various small masses of lymphoid tissues.
Used this way, tonsil is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- 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.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Either of two masses of lymphatic tissue one on each side of the oral pharynx.
A collection of lymphatic tissue in the throat behind the uvula (on the posterior wall and roof of the nasopharynx).
Either of two masses of lymphatic tissue one on each side of the oral pharynx.
A collection of lymphatic tissue in the throat behind the uvula (on the posterior wall and roof of the nasopharynx).
A collection of lymphatic tissue in the throat behind the uvula (on the posterior wall and roof of the nasopharynx).
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A painful pus filled inflammation of the tonsils and surrounding tissues.
An infection of the oral pharynx and tonsils by streptococcus.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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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.