Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sepsis

/ˈsɛpsɪs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.01 in modern English

Syllables: sep-sis
IPA: /ˈsɛpsɪs/

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A serious medical condition in which the whole body is inflamed, causing injury to its own tissues and organs as a response to infection.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Imagine the sepsis of helpless loathing [Jimmy Connors] must have inspired in his opponents during his "great runs" at the US Open."
"Los Angeles-based actor’s boyfriend said she died from meningitis and blood infection which in turn led to sepsis[.]"

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σῆψις (sêpsis, “putrefaction”), from σήπω (sḗpō, “to make rotten”), from σήψ (sḗps, “a kind of lizard; also a kind of serpent whose bite was alleged to cause putrefaction”).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: σῆψις

Usage

Inflected Forms

sepses (plural)

Derived Forms

antisepsis sepsin urosepsis

Frequently Paired Words

antiseptic asepsis aseptic haematosepsis septic septicemia septicity

Questions

How do you pronounce sepsis?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɛpsɪs/.
What does sepsis mean?: A serious medical condition in which the whole body is inflamed, causing injury to its own tissues and organs as a response to infection.
Where does sepsis come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce sepsis

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