vicissitude
/vɪˈsɪs.ɪˌt(j)uːd/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.34 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Regular change or succession from one thing to another, or one part of a cycle to the next; alternation; mutual succession; interchange; variability.
noun
A change, especially in one's life or fortunes.
Example Sentences
- "And God made.. the Stars, and set them in the firmament of Heaven to illuminate the Earth, and rule the day in their vicissitude..."
- "Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the fourteenth day of the present month."
- "Only a handful of rock musicians have become genuine icons - larger-than-life symbolic figures whose personal triumphs and vicissitudes seem to mirror the ups and downs of rock as a whole, and sometimes of the society that nurtures it. Often, rock icons become the objects of personality cults that tend to overshadow their musical accomplishments."
- "The vicissitudes of war in Iraq cast a dreary backdrop for Donald Rumsfeld's first visit to Asian military allies since he became US Defense Secretary in 2001."
- "Engaged intellectuals were obliged to take a stand on the side of progress and History, whatever the occasional moral vicissitudes."
- "Despite all the monarchy’s vicissitudes, however, Queen Elizabeth II, a figure from another age, who was stiff and formal and not noticeably particularly warm and empathetic, had won and retained the affection, loyalty and support of the overwhelming majority of the British public, who respected her for her diligence and sense of duty."
Etymology
From Middle French vicissitude, from Latin vicissitūdō (“change”), from vicissim (“on the other hand, in turn”), from vicis (“change, vicissitude”), whence Portuguese vez and French fois (“time (as in "next time"), occurrence”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: vicissitude, vicissitūdō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /vɪˈsɪs.ɪˌt(j)uːd/
- British English: /vɪˈsɪs.ɪˌt(j)uːd/