nonsyllabic

1 definition found

nonsyllabic - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  nonsyllabic
      adj 1: not forming a syllable or the nucleus of a syllable;
             consisting of a consonant sound accompanied in the same
             syllable by a vowel sound or consisting of a vowel sound
             dominated by other vowel sounds in a syllable (as the
             second vowel in a falling diphthong); "the nonsyllabic
             `n' in `botany' when it is pronounced `botny'"; "the
             nonsyllabic `i' in `oi'" [syn: nonsyllabic,
             unsyllabic] [ant: syllabic]
      2: (of speech sounds) not forming or capable of forming the
         nucleus of a syllable; "initial 'l' in 'little' is
         nonsyllabic" [ant: syllabic]