Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

contiguous

/kənˈtɪɡ.ju.əs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.17 in modern English

Syllables: con-tig-u-ous
IPA: /kənˈtɪɡ.ju.əs/

13

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Connected; touching; abutting.

adj

Adjacent; neighboring.

adj

Connecting without a break.

Example Sentences

"It was in this haphazard way that Mr Carrados was fated to be drawn into the curious Shakespeare case—a gossipy letter from an American friend coupled with the Stratford-on-Avon outrage, and the contiguous circumstance that his secretary's sister happened to be in the council of the 'militants'."
"1730–1774, Oliver Goldsmith, Introductory to Switzerland Though poor the peasant’s hut, his feasts though small, He sees his little lot the lot of all; Sees no contiguous palace rear its head To shame the meanness of his humble shed;"
"[…] the usual quietness of the day, with us, was broken in upon by the shout of success from the pursuing boats, followed by vehement respondings from the contiguous ship."
"the forty-eight contiguous states"
"Supposing three such houses to be contiguous to a central one, each separated from the latter by a straight wall."

Etymology

From Latin contiguus (“touching”) + -ous, from contingere (“to touch”); see contingent, contact, contagion.

Word Breakdown

Root: *teh₂g-
Suffix: -ous

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /kənˈtɪɡ.ju.əs/
British English: /kənˈtɪɡ.ju.əs/

Derived Forms

contiguosity contiguously contiguousness discontiguous incontiguous multicontiguous noncontiguous overcontiguous pseudocontiguous semicontiguous subcontiguous uncontiguous

Phrases

contiguous 48 contiguous United States non-contiguous

Frequently Paired Words

contiguity coterminous

Synonyms

immediate adjacent conterminous neighboring neighbouring

Rhymes With

ambiguous unambiguous exiguous incontiguous

Questions

How do you pronounce contiguous?: The recorded pronunciation is /kənˈtɪɡ.ju.əs/.
What does contiguous mean?: Connected; touching; abutting.
Where does contiguous come from?: From Latin contiguus (“touching”) + -ous, from contingere (“to touch”); see contingent, contact, contagion.

How to pronounce contiguous

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