Meanings
nounnasopharynx (plural nasopharynxes or nasopharynges)
plural nasopharynxes · plural nasopharynges
- anatomyThe nasal part of the pharynx, lying behind the nose and above the level of the soft palate.
Occasionally she gasped out "Joe!" — a flat animal cry that her slack vocal cords made unfemininely deep, that her nasopharynx, choked with mucus, robbed of all resonance.
1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 506Synonyms: epipharynx, rhinopharynx
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe nasal part of the pharynx, lying behind the nose and above the level of the soft palate.
Similar
Also see
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*néh₂s
- Proto-Italic*nāssos
- Latinnāsus
- Englishnaso-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰruHg-der.?
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰerH-der.?
- Pre-Greek*?der.?
- Ancient Greekφάρυγξ (phárunx)
- New Latinpharynx
- Englishpharynx
- Englishnasopharynx
Translations
Czech nosohltan
- nosohltannasal part of the pharynx
Finnish nenänielu
- nenänielunasal part of the pharynx
Hungarian orrgarat
- orrgaratnasal part of the pharynx
Russian носогло́тка
- носогло́тка (nosoglótka)nasal part of the pharynx
Spanish nasofaringe
- nasofaringenasal part of the pharynx
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with nasopharynx
larynxpharynxoropharynxhypopharynxbuccopharynxelectrolarynxendolarynxepilarynxepipharynxglossopharynxhyolarynxhypolarynxlaryngopharynxorolarynxpresbylarynxretropharynxvelopharynx
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
nasopharynx. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nasopharynx
MLA
“nasopharynx.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nasopharynx. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nasopharynx,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nasopharynx.
Source: nasopharynx on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.