Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

status quo

/ˌstæt.əs ˈkwoʊ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.75 in modern English

Syllables: sta-tus quo
IPA: /ˌstæt.əs ˈkwoʊ/

18

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The state of things; the way things are, as opposed to the way they could be; the existing state of affairs.

Example Sentences

"“As a black woman,” Jemisin tells me, “I have no particular interest in maintaining the status quo. Why would I? The status quo is harmful, the status quo is significantly racist and sexist and a whole bunch of other things that I think need to change. With epic fantasy there is a tendency for it to be quintessentially conservative, in that its job is to restore what is perceived to be out of whack.”"

Etymology

From Latin status (“state”) (sometimes used in the ablative statū) + quō (“in which”), the ablative of quī (“which”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: status

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌstæt.əs ˈkwoʊ/
British English: /ˌsteɪ.təs ˈkwəʊ/

Inflected Forms

status quos (plural) statuses quo (plural, rare) stati quo (hypercorrect, plural) statu quo (alternative) status in quo (alternative)

Phrases

status quoism status quoist in statu quo statu-quo-ite status in quo status quo ante status quo ante bellum status quo warrior

Frequently Paired Words

in statu quo statu-quo-ite status in quo status quo ante status quo ante bellum status quo warrior

Questions

How do you pronounce status quo?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌstæt.əs ˈkwoʊ/.
What does status quo mean?: The state of things; the way things are, as opposed to the way they could be; the existing state of affairs.
Where does status quo come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce status quo

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