Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hetero-

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.74 in modern English

Syllables: het-ero-
IPA

9

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

prefix

Varied, heterogeneous; a set that has variety with respect to the root.

prefix

Heterocyclic: a cyclic compound with multiple elements in its ring. The non-carbon atoms are known as heteroatoms.

prefix

A heterogeneous mixture.

prefix

Across, spanning multiple distinct kinds of the root, different.

prefix

Straight, heterosexual.

prefix

Other, by another.

prefix

Opposite in direction or position.

prefix

Outside; Synonym of xeno-.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sḿ̥teros Proto-Hellenic *hə́teros Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros)lbor. English hetero- Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros, “other, another, different”).

Inflected Forms

heter- (alternative, before vowel)

Derived Forms

hetero heteroatom heteroauxin heterocerc heterochromatization heteroclite heterodox heterodoxy heterodromy heterogene heterogeneity heterogeneous

Phrases

hetero-fascism homeo-

Frequently Paired Words

homeo- allo-

Synonyms

allo-

Homonyms

hetero (when ⟨o⟩ is not reduced to schwa)

Antonyms

auto- homo- iso- equi- self- ortho- syn-

Questions

What does hetero- mean?: Varied, heterogeneous; a set that has variety with respect to the root.
Where does hetero- come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sḿ̥teros Proto-Hellenic *hə́teros Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros)lbor. English hetero- Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros, “other, another, different”).

How to pronounce hetero-

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