penultimate

[ pi-nuhl-tuh-mit ]

/ pɪˈnʌl tə mɪt /

adjective

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

a penult.

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transliterate

to remove or destroy all traces of.

to change (letters, words, etc.), into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.

to explain in terms that can be more easily understood.

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Origin of penultimate

First recorded in 1670–80; see origin at penult, ultimate

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH penultimate

last penultimate ultimate

Words nearby penultimate

pentyl group, pentylenetetrazol, penuche, penuchle, penult, penultimate, penumbra, penurious, penury, penutian, penza

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for penultimate

But then that big bang that ended the penultimate episode happened.
Inside ‘Orange Is the New Black’ S2, Eps. 6-12: About That Shocking Incest Scene|Kevin Fallon, Marlow Stern|June 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And on the penultimate episode of The Bachelor, Assistant District Attorney Andi became the second to reject him.
Andi Wins ‘The Bachelor’ by Dumping Juan Pablo|Brandy Zadrozny|February 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Just look at the penultimate symbol of urban renaissance, Brooklyn.
The Revolt Against Urban Gentry|Joel Kotkin|November 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The penultimate band is $200,000 to $250,000, which is ten times as wide as the previous band.
Department of Awful Statistics: Income Inequality Edition|Megan McArdle|February 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST

This is the penultimate commercial of a leading force (pun intended) in the Super Bowl ad game.
Volkswagen’s Super Bowl Ad an Unfunny Slight to Culture|Pia Glenn|January 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Doubtless the drama of the penultimate year 1917 did not centre in the supra-Somme country.
The Challenge of the Dead|Stephen Graham
In the former the last whorl is broadest, in the latter the penultimate.
Our British Snails|John William Horsley
Examples have been given of the exceptional passive condition of the penultimate instar in Exopterygota.
The Life-Story of Insects|Geo. H. Carpenter
In males of T. ornata the penultimate phalanx of the first toe has a normal, vertical articular surface on its proximal end.
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz|John M. Legler
In closed final syllables or penultimate or earlier syllables the contrast does not obtain.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan|John U. Wolff

British Dictionary definitions for penultimate

penultimate

/ (pɪˈnʌltɪmɪt) /

adjective

next to the last

noun

anything that is next to the last, esp a penult

Word Origin for penultimate

C17: from Latin paene almost + ultimate, on the model of Latin paenultimus

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