Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

phenol

/ˈfiˌnɔl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.64 in modern English

Syllables
phe-nol
IPA
/ˈfiˌnɔl/
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A caustic, poisonous, white crystalline compound, C₆H₅OH, derived from benzene and used in resins, plastics, and pharmaceuticals and in dilute form as a disinfectant and antiseptic; once called carbolic acid

Uncountable

noun

Any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring (or other aromatic ring)

Countable

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂nyéti Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō)der. French phènebor. English phenol From French phène, from Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō, “to clear”), as it was used for illumination, name given by Auguste Laurente in 1836. By surface analysis, pheno- + -ol.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: phène, φαίνω

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈfiˌnɔl/
  • British English: /ˈfiːnɒl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

phenols (plural)

Derived Forms

allylphenol aminophenol benzeneazophenol biophenol biphenol bromophenol diaminophenol dimethylphenol diphenol ethylphenol fenoldopam fluorophenol

Phrases

bisphenol A bisphenol S phenol formaldehyde resin phenol oxidase phenol phthalein phenol red

Frequently Paired Words

phenyl

Synonyms

carbolic acid benzenol hydroxybenzene oxybenzene phenylic acid

Questions

How do you pronounce phenol?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfiˌnɔl/.
What does phenol mean?
A caustic, poisonous, white crystalline compound, C₆H₅OH, derived from benzene and used in resins, plastics, and pharmaceuticals and in dilute form as a disinfectant and antiseptic; once called carbolic acid
Where does phenol come from?
It is traced to French.

How to pronounce phenol

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