Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

teetotal

/ˌtiːˈtəʊtəl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.89 in modern English

Syllables
tee-to-tal
IPA
/ˌtiːˈtəʊtəl/
8
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Abstinent from alcohol; never drinking alcohol.

adj

Opposed to the drinking of alcohol.

adj

Containing no alcohol.

adj

Total.

Dated

noun

One who abstains from drinking alcohol.

verb

To advocate or practice the total abstinence from alcohol.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From total, the reduplicated tee acts as an intensifier, hence T-total. First use appears in 1834.

Usage

Inflected Forms

more teetotal (comparative) most teetotal (superlative) teetotals (plural) teetotals (present, singular) teetotaling (US, participle) teetotalling (UK, participle) teetotaled (US, participle) teetotaled (US, past) teetotalled (UK, participle) teetotalled (UK, past)

Derived Forms

antiteetotal teetotaler teetotalism teetotalist teetotalistic teetotaller teetotalling teetotally unteetotal

Frequently Paired Words

abstain temperance

Synonyms

on the wagon straightedge teetotaler pioneer dry

Antonyms

alcoholic dipsomaniac drunkard alco alkie bacchanal bacchant barfly bibber booze artist boozehound boozer

Questions

How do you pronounce teetotal?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌtiːˈtəʊtəl/.
What does teetotal mean?
Abstinent from alcohol; never drinking alcohol.
Where does teetotal come from?
From total, the reduplicated tee acts as an intensifier, hence T-total. First use appears in 1834.

How to pronounce teetotal

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