Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

alphabetical

/ˌælfəˈbɛtɪkəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.22 in modern English

Syllables: al-pha-bet-ic-al
IPA: /ˌælfəˈbɛtɪkəl/

21

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

5

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Pertaining to, furnished with, or expressed by letters of the alphabet.

adj

According to the sequence of the letters of the alphabet.

adj

Obsolete

noun

Ellipsis of alphabetical jigsaw.

Example Sentences

"Paul, who talks about what the magical papyri do, has in his first letter to the Corinthians described basic aspects of alphabetical language."
"All names were placed into an alphabetical list."
"But if an alphabeticall servility must be still urged, it may so fall out,"
"We used to publish two, or sometimes three, alphabeticals a year and I am proposing to resume the same sort of frequency."

Etymology

From Latin alphabēticus + -al. By surface analysis, alphabet + -ical.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌælfəˈbɛtɪkəl/
British English: /ˌæl.fəˈbɛt.ɪ.kəl/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

alphabeticals (plural)

Derived Forms

alphabeticality alphabetically alphabeticalness alphagram alphamerical alphamosaic ASCIIbetical nonalphabetical prealphabetical unalphabetical zetabetical

Phrases

alphabetical order

Frequently Paired Words

alphabet alphabetize

Synonyms

alphabetic

Rhymes With

theoretical heretical antithetical poetical parenthetical

Questions

How do you pronounce alphabetical?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌælfəˈbɛtɪkəl/.
What does alphabetical mean?: Pertaining to, furnished with, or expressed by letters of the alphabet.
Where does alphabetical come from?: From Latin alphabēticus + -al. By surface analysis, alphabet + -ical.

How to pronounce alphabetical

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