How do you pronounce ternary?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɝ.nə.ɹi/.

ternary

/ˈtɝ.nə.ɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.52 in modern English

Syllables: ternary
IPA: /ˈtɝ.nə.ɹi/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Made up of three things.

adj

Arranged in groups of three.

adj

To the base three.

adj

Having three variables.

adj

Containing, or consisting of, three different parts, as elements, atoms, groups, or radicals, which are regarded as having different functions or relations in the molecule.

adj

Of an operator taking three operands.

noun

A group of three things; a trio, threesome or tierce.

noun

The Holy Trinity.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"Perhaps the prettiest number system of all is the balanced ternary notation"
"Sodic hydroxide, NaOH, is a ternary compound."
"An "if…then…else" construction is called a ternary operator when it is combined in one line of a program."
"And albeit these thynges be waighty and truthes of great importance, yet (by the infinite goodnes of the Almighty Ternarie,) Artificiall Methods and easy wayes are made, by which the zelous Philosopher, may wyn nere this Riuerish Ida, this Mountayne of Contemplation […] ."
"Although this code is technically correct, you should be cautious when using ternaries. Many developers actually don't like using ternaries because it's easy to miss small details or create quirky behaviors."

Etymology

From Late Latin ternārius (“consisting of three things”), from ternī (“three each”).

Word Breakdown

Root: ternārius

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtɝ.nə.ɹi/
British English: /ˈtɜː.nə.ɹi/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

ternaries (plural)

Derived Forms

biternary heteroternary negaternary nonternary pseudoternary ternarily

Phrases

ternary alloy ternary code ternary complex ternary compound ternary computer ternary diagram ternary expansion ternary form

Frequently Paired Words

singular unary primary (1st) binary secondary (2nd) trinary tertiary (3rd) quaternary

Synonyms

treble triadic triple triplex tern trinary trine ternary threefold leash ternion threeness

Homonyms

ternery