Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nous

/nuːs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.99 in modern English

Syllables: nous
IPA: /nuːs/

4

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The mind or intellect, faculty for rationality or reason using the necessary common sense or awareness.

Uncountable

noun

The divine reason, regarded as first divine emanation.

Uncountable

noun

Common sense; practical intelligence.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"I feel the will to roam, to learn By test, experience, nous, That fire is hot and ocean deep, And wolves carnivorous."
"to demonstrate nous"
"There is nothing original in absent-mindedness. True originality lies elsewhere. Really, the lower classes have no nous."
"The emerging African elite felt little affection for the wahindi, seen as tight-fisted, snooty and brazenly colour-conscious, but its members knew they needed its business nous."

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek νοῦς (noûs) or νόος (nóos, “mind”).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: *(s)neh₁-, νοῦς

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /nuːs/
British English: /naʊs/

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

noos (alternative) nouse (alternative)

Phrases

good sense horse sense

Frequently Paired Words

autonoesis autonoetic good sense horse sense intuition metanoia noema noesis

Synonyms

mind head brain psyche

Rhymes With

use produce reduce abuse excuse loose introduce juice bruce goose reproduce moose

Questions

How do you pronounce nous?: The recorded pronunciation is /nuːs/.
What does nous mean?: The mind or intellect, faculty for rationality or reason using the necessary common sense or awareness.
Where does nous come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce nous

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