Polysyllabic words
Polysyllabic words are words that have four or more syllables. They are also called polysyllables or polysyllabic words.
Examples of polysyllabic words with four syllables
- television (te-le-vi-são);
- butterfly (bor-bo-le-ta);
- hope (es-pe-ran-ça);
- to weaken (en-fra-que-cer);
- politics (po-lí-ti-ca).
Examples of polysyllable words with five syllables
- phone call (te-le-fo-ne-ma);
- indifference (in-di-fe-ren-ça);
- recovery (re-cu-pe-ra-tion);
- math (ma-te-ma-ti-ca);
- divergence (di-ver-gên-ci-a).
Examples of polysyllable words with six syllables
- intelligence (in-te-li-gên-ci-a);
- sensitivity (sen-si-bi-li-da-de);
- overloaded (over-car-re-ga-do);
- university (u-ni-ver-si-da-de);
- infinitely (in-fi-ni-ta-men-te).
Examples of polysyllable words with seven syllables
- relationship (re-la-ci-o-na-men-to);
- collectors (co-le-ci-o-na-do-res);
- parallelepiped (pa-ra-le-le-pí-pe-do);
- indisputably (in-dis-cu-tí-vel-men-te);
- out of step (des-com-pas-sa-da-min-te).
Examples of eight-syllable polysyllable words
- irresponsibility (ir-res-pon-sa-bi-li-da-de);
- randomness (a-le-a-to-ri-e-da-de);
- electrocardiogram (e-le-tro-car-di-o-gram-ma);
- incomprehensibly (in-com-pre-en-si-vel-men-te);
- inalterability (i-nal-te-ra-bi-li-da-de).
Examples of polysyllable words with nine syllables
- sternocleidomastoid (es-ter-no-clei-do-mas-tói-de-o);
- heterosexuality (he-te-ros-se-xu-a-li-da-de).
Examples of polysyllable words with ten syllables
- otolaryngologist (o-tor-ri-no-la-rin-go-lo-gis-ta);
- revolutionarily (re-vo-lu-ci-o-na-ri-a-me-te).
Examples of polysyllable words with more than ten syllables
- unconstitutionally (in-cons-ti-tu-ci-o-na-lis-si-ma-men-te);
- ophthalmologist (of-tal-mo-tor-ri-no-la-rin-go-lo-gis-ta).
Curiosity !
Pneumoultramicroscopicsilicovulcanoconiotic is currently considered the largest technical word in the Portuguese language. It is a polysyllable with twenty syllables: pneu-mo-ul-tra-mi-cros-co-pi-cos-si-li-co-vul-ca-no-co-ni-ó-tic-co.
Classification according to the number of syllables
Words can be classified according to the number of syllables they contain. This classification regarding the number of syllables is based on the syllable division.
According to the number of syllables the word has, it can be classified into:
- monosyllable;
- disyllable;
- trisyllable;
- polysyllable.
A word is monosyllable when it consists of one syllable:
- without;
- bread;
- pain;
- salt;
- saw;
- …
A word is disyllable when it consists of two syllables:
- tell;
- comb;
- fresh;
- crazy;
- House;
- …
A word is trisyllable when it consists of three syllables:
- food;
- sewing;
- confusion;
- lost;
- popsicle;
- revolver;
- …
A word is polysyllable when it consists of four or more syllables:
