decasyllabic

D2E1C3A1S1Y4L1L1A1B3I1C3
/dɛkəsɪˈlæbɪk/

adjective

Having ten syllables.

“an English sonnet written in decasyllabics”

Similar
Scrabble 22

Meanings

adjectivedecasyllabic (not comparable)
  1. not comparableHaving ten syllables.

    The accomplishment was nothing. The meticulous maps, drawn in three colors of ink, learning and spelling decasyllabic words, memorizing the whole of The Rape of Lucrece—it was for nothing.

    1969, Maya Angelou, chapter 23, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, New York: Bantam, published 1971, page 152
    1 more example

    The lines are almost uniformly decasyllabic (though the syntax breaks up the iambs early in the sequence), and there are some notable exceptions which mainly cluster toward the end of the final sonnet (one line is a thirteener).

    1992, Peter Quartermain, “‘Not at All Surprised by Science’: Louis Zukofsky’s First Half of ‘A’ – 9”, in Disjunctive Poetics: From Gertrude Stein and Louis Zukofsky to Susan Howe (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 74
  2. not comparableComposed of decasyllables.
noundecasyllabic (plural decasyllabics)

plural decasyllabics

  1. pluralA decasyllable.

    an English sonnet written in decasyllabics

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivehaving or characterized by or consisting of ten syllables

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Catalan decasíl·lab
  • decasíl·labhaving ten syllables
Dutch tienlettergrepig
  • tienlettergrepighaving ten syllables
Esperanto deksilaba
  • deksilabahaving ten syllables
Finnish kymmentavuinen
  • kymmentavuinenhaving ten syllables
French décasyllabe, décasyllabique
  • décasyllabehaving ten syllables
  • décasyllabiquehaving ten syllables
German zehnsilbig
  • zehnsilbighaving ten syllables
Greek δεκασύλλαβος
  • δεκασύλλαβος (dekasýllavos)having ten syllables
Hungarian tíz szótagú/szótagos
  • tíz szótagú/szótagoshaving ten syllables
Irish deichshiollach
  • deichshiollachhaving ten syllables
Polish dziesięciozgłoskowy
  • dziesięciozgłoskowyhaving ten syllables
Russian десятисложный
  • десятисложный (desjatisložnyj)having ten syllables
Swedish tiostavig
  • tiostavighaving ten syllables
Cite this entry
APA

decasyllabic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decasyllabic

MLA

“decasyllabic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decasyllabic. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decasyllabic,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decasyllabic.

Source: decasyllabic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.