Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fetal

/ˈfitl̩/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.40 in modern English

Syllables: fe-tal
IPA: /ˈfitl̩/

8

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Pertaining to, or connected with, a fetus.

adj

In the fetal position.

Informal

Example Sentences

"fetal circulation"
"fetal membranes"
"I was fetal on my left side, unable to move. My legs fell off my queen-sized bed and were propped up by a rocking chair."
"By 12:00 when Keith arrived home with Connor, I was fetal on the couch and praying for a quick death."
"Gage had gone foetal: knees raised, chin ducked , arms shielding his head."

Etymology

From fetus + -al.

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

foetal (alternative, Commonwealth) fœtal (alternative, dated) fætal (alternative, obsolete) phoetal (alternative, obsolete) phœtal (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

afetal embryofetal extrafetal fetally fetalness fetofetal intrafetal maternofetal multifetal nonfetal oncofetal postfetal

Phrases

early fetal demise fetal alcohol spectrum disorder fetal alcohol syndrome fetal position go fetal Pinard fetal stethoscope

Frequently Paired Words

intrauterine prenatal gametal zygotal blastocystic blastular embryonal embryonary

Synonyms

foetal

Rhymes With

beetle beatle varietal avital cheetal furniture beetle cigarette beetle colorado potato beetle fungus beetle baetyl

Questions

How do you pronounce fetal?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfitl̩/.
What does fetal mean?: Pertaining to, or connected with, a fetus.
Where does fetal come from?: From fetus + -al.

How to pronounce fetal

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fetal”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfitl̩/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fetal”.
Repeat and practice — Say “fetal” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.