Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

apnea

/ˈæp.ni.ə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.00 in modern English

Syllables
ap-ne-a
IPA
/ˈæp.ni.ə/
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
3
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The cessation of breathing, most often in reference to transient instances thereof during sleep.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

From a- + -pnea, from the New Latin apnoea, from the Ancient Greek ἄπνοια (ápnoia), formed from ἀ- (a-, “absence of”) + πνοή (pnoḗ, “breathing”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

apneas (plural) apnoea (alternative) apnœa (alternative)

Derived Forms

apneic apneist hypoapnea postapnea preapnea

Phrases

email apnea sleep apnea

Frequently Paired Words

hypopnea eupnea

Synonyms

asphyxia

Homonyms

apnoea

Questions

How do you pronounce apnea?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈæp.ni.ə/.
What does apnea mean?
The cessation of breathing, most often in reference to transient instances thereof during sleep.
Where does apnea come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce apnea

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