Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

carceral

/ˈkɑɹsəɹəl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.71 in modern English

Syllables
car-cer-al
IPA
/ˈkɑɹsəɹəl/
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or pertaining to imprisonment or a prison.

Formal; Literary

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Late Latin carcerālis (“carceral”), from Latin carcer (“jail, prison”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn, in the sense of an enclosure”)) + -ālis (suffix forming relational adjectives).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: carcerālis, carcer, *(s)ker-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkɑɹsəɹəl/
  • British English: /ˈkɑːsəɹəl/

Usage

Derived Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Questions

How do you pronounce carceral?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɑɹsəɹəl/.
What does carceral mean?
Of or pertaining to imprisonment or a prison.
Where does carceral come from?
It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce carceral

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