Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tetanus

/ˈtɛt.ən.əs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.86 in modern English

Syllables
tetanus
IPA
/ˈtɛt.ən.əs/
7
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A serious and often fatal disease caused by the infection of an open wound with the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani, found in soil and the intestines and faeces of animals.

Uncountable

noun

A state of muscle tension caused by sustained contraction arising from a rapid series of nerve impulses which do not allow the muscle to relax.

Countable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Latin tetanus, from Ancient Greek τέτανος (tétanos), from τείνω (teínō, “to stretch”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: tetanus, τέτανος

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈtɛt.ən.əs/
  • British English: /ˈtɛt.ən.əs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

tetani (plural) tetanuses (plural)

Derived Forms

antitetanic antitetanus DPT pseudotetanus tetanal tetanic tetanin tetanization tetanize tetanoid tetany

Synonyms

lockjaw

Questions

How do you pronounce tetanus?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɛt.ən.əs/.
What does tetanus mean?
A serious and often fatal disease caused by the infection of an open wound with the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani, found in soil and the intestines and faeces of animals.
Where does tetanus come from?
It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce tetanus

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