Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

monumental

/ˌmɑnjəˈmɛntəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.50 in modern English

Syllables: mon-u-men-tal
IPA: /ˌmɑnjəˈmɛntəl/

14

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

In the manner of a monument.

adj

Large, grand and imposing.

adj

Taking a great amount of time and effort to complete.

adj

Relating to monuments.

Example Sentences

"Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work."
"a monumental task"
"Monumental construction."

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin monumentālis, from Latin monumentum; equivalent to monument + -al.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: monumentālis, monumentum
Suffix: monument

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌmɑnjəˈmɛntəl/
British English: /ˌmɒnjʊˈmɛntəl/

Inflected Forms

more monumental (comparative) most monumental (superlative)

Derived Forms

monumentalise monumentalism monumentality monumentalization monumentalize monumentally premonumental unmonumental

Phrases

monumental mason monumental masonry

Synonyms

massive monolithic

Rhymes With

mental environmental fundamental experimental gentle dental rental continental instrumental non-governmental accidental parental

Questions

How do you pronounce monumental?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌmɑnjəˈmɛntəl/.
What does monumental mean?: In the manner of a monument.
Where does monumental come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce monumental

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