Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

dieresis

Noun

/daɪˈɪərɪsɪs/

Definition

Dieresis is a diacritical mark used to indicate that two adjacent vowels should be pronounced separately rather than as a single sound.

Examples

In the word ‘naïve’, the dieresis shows that ‘a’ and ‘i’ are pronounced in two distinct syllables.
The poet used dieresis to maintain the rhythm of the verse.
She added a dieresis in the name ‘Coöperate’ to emphasize the separate vowel sounds.

Meaning

The term comes from the Greek word ‘diairesis’, meaning ‘division’. It is commonly used in poetry and in the phonetic representation of certain words to clarify pronunciation.