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Definition of "syllabic" [syl•lab•ic]

  • Of, relating to, or consisting of a syllable or syllables. (adjective)
  • Pronounced with every syllable distinct. (adjective)
  • Linguistics Designating a sound that is or can be the most sonorant segment of a syllable, as a vowel or a resonant. In the word riddle (rĭdˈl), the two syllabic sounds are the (i˘) and the (l). (adjective)
  • Of or being a form of verse based on the number of syllables in a line rather than on the arrangement of accents or quantities. (adjective)
  • Linguistics A syllabic sound. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "syllabic" in a sentence
  • "Space is provided on the disc for the name of the individual in syllabic characters."
  • "CV-C was called syllabic and final, CV-V was handled by a mark so an analytic feature."
  • "Over these difficulties Mr Evans pondered and worked and, after any amount of experimenting and failure, succeeded in inventing and perfecting that is known as the syllabic characters."