Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cliffhanger

/ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.84 in modern English

Syllables
cliffhang-er
IPA
/ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/
23
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense.

noun

An outcome which is awaited with keen anticipation, especially one which is delayed for a period of time or which is not known until the last minute.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From cliff + hanger, evoking the image of someone left hanging from a cliff, thereby having an uncertain fate. The term cliffhanger is considered to have originated with the serialized version of Thomas Hardy's A Pair of Blue Eyes, published in Tinsley's Magazine in the 1870s, in which the character Henry Knight is left hanging off of a cliff. It was inspired by a real life story from his wife Emma's childhood, when she had to rescue one of her school friends from a similar position.

Regional Pronunciation

  • British English: /ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/

Inflected Forms

cliffhangers (plural) cliff hanger (alternative) cliff-hanger (alternative)

Derived Forms

cliffhang

Frequently Paired Words

cliffhanging

Antonyms

anticlimax

Questions

How do you pronounce cliffhanger?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌklɪfˈhæŋ.ə(ɹ)/.
What does cliffhanger mean?
An ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense.
Where does cliffhanger come from?
From cliff + hanger, evoking the image of someone left hanging from a cliff, thereby having an uncertain fate. The term cliffhanger is considered to have originated with the serialized version of Thomas Hardy's A Pair of Blue Eyes, published in Tinsley's Magazine in the 1870s, in which the character Henry Knight is left hanging off of a cliff. It was inspired by a real life story from his wife Emma's childhood, when she had to rescue one of her school friends from a similar position.

How to pronounce cliffhanger

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