Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

inheritance

/ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.80 in modern English

Syllables
in-her-i-tance
IPA
/ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The passing of title to an estate upon death.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

That which a person is entitled to inherit, by law or testament, such as the part of an estate (i.e., a portion).

Countable

noun

The act or mechanism of inheriting; the state of having inherited.

Uncountable

noun

The biological attributes passed hereditarily from ancestors to their offspring.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The mechanism whereby parts of a superclass are available to instances of its subclass.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English enheritaunce, inheritaunce, borrowed from Anglo-Norman, Old French enheritaunce, from enheriter. By surface analysis, inherit + -ance.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

inheritances (plural) enheritance (alternative, obsolete) enheritaunce (alternative, obsolete) inheritaunce (alternative, obsolete) inhæritance (alternative, hypercorrect)

Derived Forms

coinheritance disinheritance misinheritance noninheritance preheritance

Phrases

blending inheritance composition over inheritance inheritance law inheritance powder inheritance tax particulate inheritance widow inheritance

Frequently Paired Words

inherit inheritable inheritor inheritress inheritrix

Synonyms

heritage hereditary pattern

Questions

How do you pronounce inheritance?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/.
What does inheritance mean?
The passing of title to an estate upon death.
Where does inheritance come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce inheritance

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