Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having more than two and usually more than three syllables.
  • adjective Characterized by words having more than three syllables.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to a polysyllable; consisting of many syllables, specifically of more than three.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pertaining to a polysyllable; containing, or characterized by, polysyllables; consisting of more than three syllables.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of a word Having more than one syllable; having multiple or many syllables.
  • adjective of spoken or written language Characterized by or consisting of words having numerous syllables.
  • noun a word having more than one syllable

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having or characterized by words of more than three syllables
  • adjective (of words) long and ponderous; having many syllables

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • And both these words, as well as individual, which must be treated more at length in the next section, are illustrations of a tendency that we have called polysyllabic humour and discussed in the Chapter Airs and Graces.

    Slang. 1908

  • In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has been both clever and deceptive in giving this kind of polysyllabic, clinical name to even mild, transient versions of common ailments as a way of persuading both doctors and patients that their new, potent drugs are essential to our well-being.

    Dr. Andrew Weil: Let's Take the Stomachache Out of Health Care Reform: One Patient's Story 2009

  • Slither: I could start off by getting all academic on you and talking about the conscious role of the metaphor of sexual violation in horror films, or I could get all polysyllabic on you and use words like "polysyllabic," and while I can't promise I won't commit those sins later on in this review, dear reader, I will say at the start that

    Pajiba 2009

  • The comics pages didn't draw him in as much as all those polysyllabic names.

    Archive 2009-05-01 2009

  • (Either that or this transplant simply can't comprehend the term when spoken with a polysyllabic Dallas drawl.)

    The 'Riffs Interview: 'CYANIDE & HAPPINESS's' Dave McElfatrick tackles visas, viscera & American humor Michael Cavna 2010

  • He was too busy mispronouncing polysyllabic words, invading countries and getting mixed up about weapons of Mass Destruction to be able to show up and admit that "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" was his favorite Oscar-winning tune.

    Barack Obama, no one cares about your favorite Oscar song 2011

  • After that my vocabulary runs out of obscure polysyllabic words and I'm forced to just stutter, stammer and blurt out something like Oh yeah?

    Facebook for Fishing? 2009

  • The comics pages didn't draw him in as much as all those polysyllabic names.

    Greek Myth Graphics as a Gateway 2009

  • After that my vocabulary runs out of obscure polysyllabic words and I'm forced to just stutter, stammer and blurt out something like Oh yeah?

    Facebook for Fishing? 2009

  • With a remarkable 37 or so ingredients, many of which are polysyllabic chemical compounds, Twinkies would seem to embody the antithesis of that rule …

    What’s In A Twinkie? | Impact Lab 2010

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