syl·lab·ic (s -l b k)adj.1. a. Of, relating to, or consisting of a syllable or syllables. b. Pronounced with every syllable distinct. 2. 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 (r  d  l), the two syllabic sounds are the (i  ) and the (l). 3. 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. n. Linguistics A syllabic sound.
[Medieval Latin syllabicus, from Greek sullabikos, from sullab , syllable; see syllable.]
syl·lab i·cal·ly adv. |
syllabic Adjective
of or relating to syllables
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Adj. | 1. | syllabic - of or relating to syllables; "syllabic accent"; "syllabic characters each represent a syllable" |
| 2. | syllabic - consisting of or using a syllabary; "eskimos of the eastern Arctic have a system of syllabic writing" |
| 3. | syllabic - (of verse) having lines based on number of syllables rather than on rhythmical arrangement of stresses or quantitiesaccentual - (of verse) having a metric system based on stress rather than syllables or quantity; "accentual poetry is based on the number of stresses in a line"; "accentual rhythm" quantitative - (of verse) having a metric system based on relative duration of syllables; "in typical Greek and Latin verse of the classical period the rhymic system is based on some arrangement of long and short elements" |
| 4. | syllabic - consisting of a syllable or syllablesnonsyllabic, unsyllabic - not forming a syllable or the nucleus of a syllable; consisting of a consonant sound accompanied in the same syllable by a vowel sound or consisting of a vowel sound dominated by other vowel sounds in a syllable (as the second vowel in a falling diphthong); "the nonsyllabic `n' in `botany' when it is pronounced `botny'"; "the nonsyllabic `i' in `oi'" |
| 5. | syllabic - (of speech sounds) forming the nucleus of a syllable; "the syllabic 'nl' in 'riddle'"nonsyllabic - (of speech sounds) not forming or capable of forming the nucleus of a syllable; "initial 'l' in 'little' is nonsyllabic" |