Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ivan the terrible

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.80 in modern English

Syllables
ivan the ter-ri-ble
IPA
23
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, who was the Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533, and Tsar of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584.

Etymology

A calque of Russian Ива́н Гро́зный (Iván Gróznyj), using the older “inspiring fear or terror; dangerous; powerful” (not “defective; evil”) sense of terrible.

Phrases

Peter the Great Suleiman the Magnificent

Frequently Paired Words

Peter the Great Suleiman the Magnificent

Questions

What does ivan the terrible mean?
Ivan IV Vasilyevich, who was the Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533, and Tsar of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584.
Where does ivan the terrible come from?
A calque of Russian Ива́н Гро́зный (Iván Gróznyj), using the older “inspiring fear or terror; dangerous; powerful” (not “defective; evil”) sense of terrible.

How to pronounce ivan the terrible

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