adjective

polysyllabic

pah-lee-sih-LAB-ik/ˌpɑːlisɪˈlæbɪk/

Having more than one syllable, especially several.

The word banana is polysyllabic, with three syllables separated on the card.

A simple pronunciation-study card bearing only “ba·na·na,” with three clearly separated syllable groups and one small banana beside it to anchor the word to a familiar object.

Etymology

polyGreekmany

+syllabGreeka syllable

+icEnglishpertaining to

The pieces describe something made up of “many syllables.” In the selected sense, that means more than one syllable, though the term often suggests a word with several.

More examples

“Elephant” is a polysyllabic word with three syllables.
The poem mixes short words with longer, polysyllabic ones.
His speech is full of polysyllabic medical terms.

Forms

polysyllabic

polysyllable noun — A word with more than one syllable.

Similar words

multisyllabic: Equally describes multiple syllables, without suggesting especially many.