Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

weasel

/ˈwizəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.19 in modern English

Syllables
wea-sel
IPA
/ˈwizəl/
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genera Mustela, Neogale, Poecilogale, and Lyncodon, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly.

noun

A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).

noun

Any of certain other species of the family Mustelidae.

noun

A devious or sneaky person or animal.

Derogatory; Informal

noun

A type of yarn winder used for counting the yardage of handspun yarn; spinner's weasel. It most commonly has a wooden peg or dowel that pops up from the gearing mechanism after a certain number of yards have been wound onto the winder.

verb

To achieve by clever or devious means.

Transitive verb

verb

To gain something for oneself by clever or devious means.

Transitive verb

verb

To engage in clever or devious behavior.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ Proto-West Germanic *wisulā Old English weosule Middle English wēsele English weasel From Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule, from Proto-West Germanic *wisulā, from Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ. The verb is from c. 1900, from the supposed cunningness of the weasel.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: wesele, weosule, *wisulā, *wisulǭ

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈwizəl/
  • British English: /ˈwiːz(ə)l/

Usage

Inflected Forms

weasels (plural) weazel (alternative) weazle (alternative) weasels (present, singular) weaseling (US, participle) weaselling (UK, participle) weaseled (US, participle) weaseled (US, past) weaselled (UK, participle) weaselled (UK, past)

Derived Forms

weaselly weasely cuntweasel weaseler weaselese weaselfish weaselish weasellike weaselskin

Phrases

African striped weasel Altai weasel Amazon weasel back-striped weasel Bonaparte's weasel bridled weasel Colombian weasel common weasel

Frequently Paired Words

weaseler weaseller weasel into weasel one's way weasel out ferret mink polecat

Synonyms

mustela

Rhymes With

easel feazell feasel diesel least weasel teasel eisel measle

Questions

How do you pronounce weasel?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwizəl/.
What does weasel mean?
Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genera Mustela, Neogale, Poecilogale, and Lyncodon, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly.
Where does weasel come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce weasel

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