Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

poltergeist

/ˈpoʊl.tɚˌɡaɪst/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.57 in modern English

Syllables: pol-ter-geist
IPA: /ˈpoʊl.tɚˌɡaɪst/

14

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An unseen ghost which makes noises and causes disruption, especially by causing physical objects to move or fly about.

name

A planet in Lich star system, Milky Way Galaxy, Virgo constellation; One of the pair of planets that were the first exoplanets which were discovered. A planet in orbit of the pulsar Lich (PSR B1257+12)

Example Sentences

"A poltergeist haunts the house by moving objects around, making chain-rattling noises and throwing things."
"The chapel is haunted by a demonic poltergeist."
""Perhaps even a small poltergeist might come your way. Any trifle would be welcome." His bull's bellow of laughter followed them into the lift."
"I risk becoming nothing more than a common poltergeist wallowing in regrets and introspection and other terrible things."

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from German Poltergeist, from poltern (“to rumble”) + Geist (“ghost”), cognates with English boulder and ghost, respectively.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpoʊl.tɚˌɡaɪst/
British English: /ˈpɒl.tə.ɡaɪst/

Inflected Forms

poltergeists (plural) poltergeister (plural)

Derived Forms

poltergeistic poltergeistism poltergeistlike poltergeisty poltergoose

Frequently Paired Words

Lich Draugr Phobetor

Synonyms

PSR B1257+12 B PSR B1257+12

Questions

How do you pronounce poltergeist?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpoʊl.tɚˌɡaɪst/.
What does poltergeist mean?: An unseen ghost which makes noises and causes disruption, especially by causing physical objects to move or fly about.
Where does poltergeist come from?: Unadapted borrowing from German Poltergeist, from poltern (“to rumble”) + Geist (“ghost”), cognates with English boulder and ghost, respectively.

How to pronounce poltergeist

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