as in licks
the smallest amount or part imaginable
you're not making a syllable of sense
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of syllables
Many of its songs crystallize around samples of choirs singing, their soft syllables dissolving beneath heavy shrouds of reverb.
—
Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 10 Mar. 2026
With her original, breathy way of speaking, stressing odd syllables and stretching random vowels to the breaking point, her mad fashions and family of wigs, Moira is a sketch character with depth.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2026
No middle name, no hyphen, no extraneous vowels, three syllables played on a drum.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 20 Jan. 2026
The rhythm of a sentence will accommodate a certain number of syllables.
—Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025
Those with the speech impediment can repeat sounds or syllables, make longer sounds, or get stuck on a word or sound.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
For the monks or clerics, it is presented as a material substance, carried like a sack of gold on the demon’s back; the metaphors used are monetary or economic, as though the monks owe ordered syllables to God instead of the monetary tithe their vows of poverty render unnecessary.
—JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
Their brains had a smaller N1 response when inner and outer syllables matched (the inner SIS effect).
—New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2025
Such a marvelous collection of syllables.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 10 Mar. 2026
With her original, breathy way of speaking, stressing odd syllables and stretching random vowels to the breaking point, her mad fashions and family of wigs, Moira is a sketch character with depth.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2026
No middle name, no hyphen, no extraneous vowels, three syllables played on a drum.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 20 Jan. 2026
The rhythm of a sentence will accommodate a certain number of syllables.
—Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025
Those with the speech impediment can repeat sounds or syllables, make longer sounds, or get stuck on a word or sound.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
For the monks or clerics, it is presented as a material substance, carried like a sack of gold on the demon’s back; the metaphors used are monetary or economic, as though the monks owe ordered syllables to God instead of the monetary tithe their vows of poverty render unnecessary.
—JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
Their brains had a smaller N1 response when inner and outer syllables matched (the inner SIS effect).
—New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2025
Such a marvelous collection of syllables.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for syllables
Noun
-
She was known to sneak butter from the fridge to enjoy a few finger licks.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Miami got some good licks on Mendoza, bloodying his lip early on a shot from Jakobe Thomas that probably could have drawn a flag for targeting.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Owl hoots are most effective at striking up turkeys when owls are naturally active, which is around dawn and dusk.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
11 Mar. 2026
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The Blackhawks dressing room was a rowdy scene after the game, their hoots and hollers reverberating throughout the bowels of the United Center.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
These brief bits find themselves among the fine art works curated from 32 of the hundreds of painters, sculptors, illustrators and photographers who have traveled to Ossabaw Island over the past 65 years.—
Amy Paige Condon,
AJC.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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To be more sensitive to modern audiences, O’Brien said that Howl’s revival would take fewer song requests while softening the onstage comedy bits, adding that its modern music and food menu of wings and flatbreads would also drive the bar’s success.—
Phillip Valys,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Visitors can also expect math raps by The Music Notes.—
Abby Hamblin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Mar. 2026
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The trembling bass mixed with faded talk-raps (somewhere between fakemink’s blurry party reports and SoundCloud-era Nav’s fame-hungry melodrama) feels like listening to Mustard’s pop-rap formula from inside the club bathroom.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Syllables.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/syllables. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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