diphthong

[ dif-thawng ]

Part of Speech noun

Origin + Etymology

Late Middle English; Greek from French diphtongue, via late Latin from Greek diphthongos, from di- ‘twice’ + phthongos ‘voice, sound’

Synonyms

affricate
click
consonant
fricative
implosive
liquid
phone
sonant

Antonyms

synaeresis

Definition

a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable, in which the sound begins as one vowel and moves toward another (as in coin, loud, and side)

Example

The English teacher asked her students to identify the diphthong in the word "meat."

Usage Over Time

#educational

Usage Over Time

explore more words

boondoggle

[ boon-dog-uhl ]

waste money or time on unnecessary or questionable projects

kith

[ kith ]

acquaintances, friends, neighbors, or the like; persons living in the same general locality and forming a more or less cohesive group

voyeuristic

[ vwah-yuh-ris-tik ]

relating to the pleasure gained from watching someone, especially secretively

baksheesh

[ bak-sheesh ]

a tip, present, or gratuity

winsome

[ win-suhm ]

sweetly or innocently charming; winning; engaging

salubrious

[ suh-loo-bree-uhs ]

favorable to or promoting health; healthful

verisimilitude

[ ver-uh-si-mil-i-tood ]

the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true

epitome

[ ih-pit-uh-mee ]

a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class

urbane

[ ur-beyn ]

having the polish and suavity regarded as characteristic of sophisticated social life in major cities