Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

foundational

/faʊnˈdeɪ.ʃə.nəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.06 in modern English

Syllables: foun-da-tion-al
IPA: /faʊnˈdeɪ.ʃə.nəl/

16

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or relating to a foundation or foundations.

adj

Fundamental or underlying.

Example Sentences

"Racism courses through Donald Trump’s blood and is one of the foundational principles of his presidency. Which is why, when faced with one of the greatest uprisings against police brutality this nation has seen, a movement led by black people around the country and joined by all other people of color and white people as well, his only policy solution is to start a race war."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-? Proto-Indo-European *-mḗn Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰnós Proto-Indo-European *bʰundʰós Proto-Italic *fundos Latin fundus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin fundō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin fundātiōder. Old French fondacionbor. Middle English foundacioun English foundation English -al English foundational From foundation + -al.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /faʊnˈdeɪ.ʃə.nəl/

Inflected Forms

more foundational (comparative) most foundational (superlative)

Derived Forms

antifoundational foundationalism foundationalist foundationalistic foundationality foundationally nonfoundational postfoundational

Phrases

foundational belief Foundational Black American foundational witness

Synonyms

foundationary groundlaying

Rhymes With

educational operational recreational organizational inspirational occupational vocational computational sensational gravitational motivational generational

Questions

How do you pronounce foundational?: The recorded pronunciation is /faʊnˈdeɪ.ʃə.nəl/.
What does foundational mean?: Of or relating to a foundation or foundations.
Where does foundational come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-? Proto-Indo-European *-mḗn Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰnós Proto-Indo-European *bʰundʰós Proto-Italic *fundos Latin fundus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin fundō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin fundātiōder. Old French fondacionbor. Middle English foundacioun English foundation English -al English foundational From foundation + -al.

How to pronounce foundational

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “foundational”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/faʊnˈdeɪ.ʃə.nəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “foundational” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.