Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

handwavium

/hændˈweɪ.vi.əm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: hand-wav-i-um
IPA: /hændˈweɪ.vi.əm/

22

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any hypothetical but unobtainable material with desirable engineering properties.

Informal; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"My handwavium was an invented mineral, but - reading up - what about platinum? Could I substitute platinum for handwavium?"
"It made no sense to him that their very impossibility was their pleasure. He puzzled over the spacecraft and their handwavium drives. "The thousand and one nights of Scheherazade, told by an engineering student who failed his graduation exams," was his literary judgment."
"She writes romantic fantasy and science fiction, and makes liberal use of the substance known as handwavium."

Etymology

From hand waving + -ium (“the chemical element suffix”).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /hændˈweɪ.vi.əm/
British English: /handˈweɪ.vi.əm/

Usage

Phrases

hand waving wave of the hand

Frequently Paired Words

handwave hand waving handwaving handwavy wave of the hand

Synonyms

unobtainium

Questions

How do you pronounce handwavium?: The recorded pronunciation is /hændˈweɪ.vi.əm/.
What does handwavium mean?: Any hypothetical but unobtainable material with desirable engineering properties.
Where does handwavium come from?: From hand waving + -ium (“the chemical element suffix”).

How to pronounce handwavium

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “handwavium”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/hændˈweɪ.vi.əm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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