Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

optional

/ˈɑp.ʃə.nəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.91 in modern English

Syllables: op-tion-al
IPA: /ˈɑp.ʃə.nəl/

10

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Not compulsory; left to personal choice; elective.

noun

Something that is not compulsory, especially part of an academic course.

noun

In various programming languages, a kind of variable that is assigned a specific data type but may or may not hold an actual value.

Example Sentences

"On that beach clothing is entirely optional."
"Do you need to wear eyeliner? As with any makeup step, eyeliner is completely optional. From an artistic perspective, if you are wearing eyeshadow, I almost always recommend wearing eyeliner, unless your eyelids and eyelashes are obscured by the eyebrow area. Eyeliner is a basic part of an eye-makeup design because it shapes and defines the eyes and makes the eyelashes look thicker."
"In functional languages, there is a data type called the option type, also called the maybe type. Its purpose is to encapsulate a value, which is returned from a function. […] In Java 8, the Optional class has been added to serve as an option type."

Etymology

From option + -al.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɑp.ʃə.nəl/
British English: /ˈɒp.ʃə.nəl/

Inflected Forms

optionals (plural)

Derived Forms

optionalize unoptional

Phrases

clothing optional

Frequently Paired Words

option optionality optionally acquiescent

Synonyms

facultative discretionary elective free noncompulsory nonmandatory nonobligate nonobligatory nonrequired nonrequisite optional optionary

Antonyms

compulsory mandatory necessary obligatory binding compulsatory decretory forced imperative involuntary nonoptional required

Questions

How do you pronounce optional?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɑp.ʃə.nəl/.
What does optional mean?: Not compulsory; left to personal choice; elective.
Where does optional come from?: From option + -al.

How to pronounce optional

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