polysemous
adjective
po·ly·se·mous
ˌpä-lē-ˈsē-məs 
pə-ˈli-sə-məs
pə-ˈli-sə-məs
variants
or polysemic
: having multiple meanings
Examples of polysemous in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Run takes up half again as much space as its nearest polysemous competitor, put, which itself is far more polysemous than the third word in this list, set.
—
Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2022
The wheel is now an omnipresent and polysemous symbol of not only New Age interpretations of Native religions but also pan-Indian ideology.
—Sierra Crane Murdoch, Harper's Magazine, 3 May 2023
Rounding out the top 10 most polysemous words — each but a single syllable — are, alphabetically, cast, cut, draw, point, serve, strike, and through.
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2022
In one of the more extreme polysemous developments, a word can take on an opposite meaning, as dust (v.) can mean to clean up small particles (dust the furniture) or to apply small particles (dust the Bundt cake with powdered sugar).
—John E. McIntyre, baltimoresun.com, 3 July 2017
Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2022
The wheel is now an omnipresent and polysemous symbol of not only New Age interpretations of Native religions but also pan-Indian ideology.
—Sierra Crane Murdoch, Harper's Magazine, 3 May 2023
Rounding out the top 10 most polysemous words — each but a single syllable — are, alphabetically, cast, cut, draw, point, serve, strike, and through.
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2022
In one of the more extreme polysemous developments, a word can take on an opposite meaning, as dust (v.) can mean to clean up small particles (dust the furniture) or to apply small particles (dust the Bundt cake with powdered sugar).
—John E. McIntyre, baltimoresun.com, 3 July 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'polysemous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Polysemous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polysemous. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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