Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

parasympathetic

/ˌpɛɹ.ə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.28 in modern English

Syllables
parasym-pa-thet-ic
IPA
/ˌpɛɹ.ə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/
29
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
6
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or relating to the part of the autonomic nervous system that inhibits or opposes the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. It consists of nerves arising from the brain and the lower end of the spinal cord and supplying the internal organs, blood vessels, and glands.

noun

A parasympathetic nerve.

noun

Ellipsis of parasympathetic nervous system.

Etymology

From para- (“beside, adjacent to”) + sympathetic, because some of these nerves run alongside sympathetic nerves.

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌpɛɹ.ə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/
  • British English: /ˌpa.ɹə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/

Inflected Forms

parasympathetics (plural)

Derived Forms

cardioparasympathetic parasympathetically

Phrases

parasympathetic nervous system parasympatho- parasympath- trigemino-parasympathetic

Frequently Paired Words

orthosympathetic

Synonyms

parasympathetic nervous system

Antonyms

sympathetic

Rhymes With

genetic magnetic athletic pathetic aesthetic synthetic sympathetic energetic cosmetic poetic electromagnetic diabetic

Questions

How do you pronounce parasympathetic?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌpɛɹ.ə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/.
What does parasympathetic mean?
Of or relating to the part of the autonomic nervous system that inhibits or opposes the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. It consists of nerves arising from the brain and the lower end of the spinal cord and supplying the internal organs, blood vessels, and glands.
Where does parasympathetic come from?
From para- (“beside, adjacent to”) + sympathetic, because some of these nerves run alongside sympathetic nerves.

How to pronounce parasympathetic

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