ramification
/ˌɹæməfəˈkeɪʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.94 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A branching-out, the act or result of developing branches; specifically the divergence of the stem and limbs of a plant into smaller ones, or of similar developments in blood vessels, anatomical structures etc.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
An offshoot of a decision, fact etc.; a consequence or implication, especially one which complicates a situation.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The character of trees may be studied to advantage […] in winter, when the forms of the ramification can be seen in the naked boughs […]"
- "From the left chamber or ventricle of the strong muscular mass, the heart, a large tube arises, called the aorta; and by a continued division or ramification, opens a way for the bright scarlet blood to the very minutest part of the living frame […]"
- "[…]we may be sure that Becky and Briggs looked out those august names in the Peerage, and followed the noble races up through all the ramifications of the family tree."
- "“You live in a different world to me, Mr. Overton—a sweeter and healthier one. My ramifications stretch out into many sections of society, but never, I am happy to say, into amateur sport, which is the best and soundest thing in England.[…]"
- "Quite unexpectedly an idea popped into Tarzan's head. In following out the many ramifications of the dictionary definition of God he had come upon the word create—“to cause to come into existence; to form out of nothing.”"
- "The treachery of some of the Jacobite agents (Rashleigh among the rest), and the arrest of others, had made George the First's Government acquainted with the extensive ramifications of a conspiracy long prepared, and which at last exploded prematurely […]"
Etymology
From Middle French ramification, or its source, Medieval Latin rāmificātiō. By surface analysis, ramify + -ication.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ramification, rāmificātiō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɹæməfəˈkeɪʃən/
- British English: /ɹæmɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/