penultimate
Americanadjective
-
next to the last.
the penultimate scene of the play.
-
of or relating to a penult or the next to the last syllable in a word.
In the word appropriate, -pri- is the penultimate syllable.
noun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of penultimate
Explanation
If something’s the penultimate, then it’s the second to last thing in a series. If you’re watching the penultimate episode of your favorite TV show, you know that there’s only one more episode to go. Penultimate came into English in the 17th century from the Latin word paenultimus, a combination of paene, meaning “almost,” and ultimus, meaning “last.” So if something’s penultimate, it’s “almost last”: more specifically, it’s next to last. If you’re reading a book with 20 chapters, chapter 19 is the penultimate chapter. If you’re a fan of grammar terms, you might already know that penultimate can refer to a word’s next to last syllable, called a penult.
Vocabulary lists containing penultimate
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This Week in Pop Culture: November 10 - 16, 2018
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After a huge overhaul, it reopened as The Penultimate Picture Palace in 1974, becoming a magnet to students and locals who were drawn to its eclectic array of arthouse and foreign films.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2022
People adopted nicknames for the weekend: Down, Penultimate, Emo Biscotti.
From The New Yorker • Aug. 19, 2019
They are the dog days of "Beverly Hills, 90210," the last gasps of a teen soap grown up and grown old: Episode No. 299, titled "The Penultimate."
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2019
Lethem, ever helpful, provides another source: Philip K. Dick’s 1964 novel “The Penultimate Truth.”
From Seattle Times • Nov. 21, 2018
“I’m happy you guys came tonight. You and Penultimate are a great couple, man.”
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
