Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

penultimate

/pɪˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.09 in modern English

Syllables: pen-ul-tim-ate
IPA: /pɪˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/

15

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.

British usage; Literary

adj

Of or pertaining to a penult.

adj

Relating to or denoting an element of a related collection of curves that is arbitrarily close to a degenerate form.

adj

pre-eminent, ultimate, best; par excellence, top-quality

noun

A penult, a next to last, particularly

noun

A penult, a next to last

Obsolete

noun

A penult, a next to last

noun

A penult, a next to last

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"[…] they [the sounds of an echo] next strike the ultimate secondary object, then the penultimate and antepenultimate; […]"
"But it should frequently happen that offspring should resemble its penultimate rather than its latest phase, and should thus be more like a grand-parent than a parent."
"“Your clothes don't weigh more'n seven pounds. And seven from—hum—say one hundred an' twenty-three—one hundred an' sixteen is your stripped weight.” But at the penultimate word, Mary cried out with sharp reproof: “Why, Billy Roberts, people don't talk about such things.”"
"This Book is the Proud Purple Penultimate!!"
"This treatment, where two therapists massage the body using warm oils infused with plant extracts, is truly the penultimate experience."
"Ultimately, I reach the most penultimate existential questions: “What is the meaning of this? Is there any?”"

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin paene Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Italic *-tm̥mos Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos Latin ultimus Latin paenultimus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātuslbor. English -ate English penultimate From Latin paenultimus (“penultimate”) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix), from paene (“almost”) + ultimus (“last”). Equivalent to pene- + ultimate. Compare French pénultième.

Usage

Inflected Forms

pænultimate (alternative, archaic) penultimates (plural)

Derived Forms

antepenultimate penultimately penultimatum preantepenultimate prepenultimate propenultimate propreantepenultimate

Frequently Paired Words

penult ultimate peninitial antepenultimate preantepenultimate propreantepenultimate

Synonyms

penult next to last next-to-last second to last second-to-last second from last second-from-last second last second-last last but one last penultimate but one

Antonyms

second

Rhymes With

ultimate antepenultimate preantepenultimate

Questions

How do you pronounce penultimate?: The recorded pronunciation is /pɪˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/.
What does penultimate mean?: Next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.
Where does penultimate come from?: Etymology tree Latin paene Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Italic *-tm̥mos Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos Latin ultimus Latin paenultimus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātuslbor. English -ate English penultimate From Latin paenultimus (“penultimate”) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix), from paene (“almost”) + ultimus (“last”). Equivalent to pene- + ultimate. Compare French pénultième.

How to pronounce penultimate

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