pentameter

[ pen-tam-i-ter ]

/ pɛnˈtæm ɪ tər /

Prosody

Save This Word!

noun

a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet.

Also called elegiac pentameter. Classical Prosody. a verse consisting of two dactyls, one long syllable, two more dactyls, and another long syllable.

unrhymed verse of five iambic feet; heroic verse.

adjective

consisting of five metrical feet.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of pentameter

1540–50; <Latin pentametrus<Greek pentámetros.See penta-, meter²

OTHER WORDS FROM pentameter

pen·tam·e·trist, noun

Words nearby pentameter

pentahydrate, pentahydric, pentahydroxy, pentalpha, pentamerous, pentameter, pentamethonium bromide, pentamethylene, pentamethylenediamine, pentamidine, pentane

How to use pentameter in a sentence

The lovers speak entirely in iambic pentameter, which works much better than it should.
Jude Law in Drag|Caryn James|September 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The alternate hexameter and pentameter are, for most purposes, a more agreeable measure than the hexameter by itself.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
If these verses were composed in good Latinity, the first word of the pentameter probably was justitiam.
Notes and Queries, Number 241, June 10, 1854|Various
The meter is iambic pentameter; but the first foot of the second line is a trochee, and emphasizes thoughts with fine effect.
Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism|F. V. N. Painter

It consists of nine verses, the first eight being iambic pentameter, and the ninth line iambic hexameter, or Alexandrine.
Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism|F. V. N. Painter
Unrhymed poetry, usually in iambic pentameter measure, is known as blank verse.
Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism|F. V. N. Painter

British Dictionary definitions for pentameter

pentameter

/ (pɛnˈtæmɪtə) /

noun

a verse line consisting of five metrical feet

(in classical prosody) a verse line consisting of two dactyls, one stressed syllable, two dactyls, and a final stressed syllable

adjective

designating a verse line consisting of five metrical feet

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012