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polysynthetic

[ pol-ee-sin-thet-ik ]
/ ˌpɒl i sɪnˈθɛt ɪk /
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adjective
(of a language) characterized by a prevalence of relatively long words containing a large number of affixes to express syntactic relationships and meanings. Many American Indian languages are polysynthetic.Compare analytic (def. 3), synthetic (def. 3).
of or relating to polysynthesism.
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Sometimes pol·y·syn·thet·i·cal .

Origin of polysynthetic

1795–1805; <Late Greek polysýnthet(os) much compounded + -ic. See poly-, synthetic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use polysynthetic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for polysynthetic

polysynthetic
/ (ˌpɒlɪsɪnˈθɛtɪk) /

adjective
denoting languages, such as Inuktitut, in which single words may express the meaning of whole phrases or clauses by virtue of multiple affixesCompare synthetic (def. 3), analytic (def. 3), agglutinative (def. 2)

Derived forms of polysynthetic

polysynthesis (ˌpɒlɪˈsɪnθɪsɪs), nounpolysynthesism, nounpolysynthetically, adverb
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
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