Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

polyvalent

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.79 in modern English

Syllables: poly-va-lent
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Multivalent; having a number of different forms, purposes, meanings, aspects or principles.

adj

Having a high valence, especially more than three.

adj

Having multiple valencies.

adj

Containing antibodies to more than one kind of pathogen.

adj

Having several different syllabic or semantic meanings depending on the context.

Example Sentences

"The approximately 1000 different cuneiform signs form a complex script system in which practically every symbol is polyvalent, i.e., having multiple phonemic and/or semantic realizations."

Etymology

From poly- + -valent.

Word Breakdown

Prefix: poly
Root: *h₂welh₁-
Suffix: valent

Inflected Forms

more polyvalent (comparative) most polyvalent (superlative)

Derived Forms

antipolyvalent polyvalently

Synonyms

multivalent

Questions

What does polyvalent mean?: Multivalent; having a number of different forms, purposes, meanings, aspects or principles.
Where does polyvalent come from?: From poly- + -valent.

How to pronounce polyvalent

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