What does compound mean?

compound means "make more intense, stronger, or more marked". That is the primary sense; the word has 11 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in compound?

compound has 2 syllables: com-pound. The stress falls on "com". In IPA it is /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/.

What is another word for compound?

Close synonyms include intensify, heighten, deepen, combine, combine. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of compound?

The recorded antonyms are simple.

Is compound a common word?

compound is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

compound — meaning, pronunciation and 11 definitions

verb

5 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
make more intense, stronger, or more marked
“The efforts were intensified”
“Her rudeness intensified his dislike for her”
“Pot smokers claim it heightens their awareness”
“This event only deepened my convictions”
Synonymsintensify heighten deepen
Broaderincrease
Narrowerheat up fan enhance amplify sharpen
2.
put or add together
“combine resources”
Synonymscombine
Broaderadd
Narrowertotalize recombine mix synthesize
3.
calculate principal and interest
Broaderaccount
4.
create by mixing or combining
Broaderassemble
5.
combine so as to form a whole; mix
“compound the ingredients”
Synonymscombine
Broadermix
Narrowerintegrate heterodyne sulfurette carburet

noun

3 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
a whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts
Broaderwhole
2.
(chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight
Synonymschemical compound
Broaderchemical
Narrowervanillin acceptor adduct antiknock acid arsenide hydrogen cyanide anionic compound base binary compound
chemistry
3.
an enclosure of residences and other building (especially in the Orient)
Broaderenclosure

adjective

3 sensesA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

1.
composed of more than one part
“compound leaves are composed of several lobes”
“compound flower heads”
Antonymssimple
Similarbilobate binate bipartite bipinnate bipinnatifid cleft conjugate decompound
botany
2.
consisting of two or more substances or ingredients or elements or parts
“soap is a compound substance”
“housetop is a compound word”
“a blackberry is a compound fruit”
Similarcomplex
3.
composed of many distinct individuals united to form a whole or colony
“coral is a colonial organism”
Synonymscolonial
Similarcomplex
zoology

Other forms of compound

plural: compounds·
past tense: compounded·
present participle: compounding·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about compound

What does compound mean?: compound means "make more intense, stronger, or more marked". That is the primary sense; the word has 11 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in compound?: compound has 2 syllables: com-pound. The stress falls on "com". In IPA it is /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/.
What is another word for compound?: Close synonyms include intensify, heighten, deepen, combine, combine. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
What is the opposite of compound?: The recorded antonyms are simple.
Is compound a common word?: compound is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for compound come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

verb

5 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
make more intense, stronger, or more marked
“The efforts were intensified”
“Her rudeness intensified his dislike for her”
“Pot smokers claim it heightens their awareness”
“This event only deepened my convictions”
Synonymsintensify heighten deepen
Broaderincrease
Narrowerheat up fan enhance amplify sharpen
2.
put or add together
“combine resources”
Synonymscombine
Broaderadd
Narrowertotalize recombine mix synthesize
3.
calculate principal and interest
Broaderaccount
4.
create by mixing or combining
Broaderassemble
5.
combine so as to form a whole; mix
“compound the ingredients”
Synonymscombine
Broadermix
Narrowerintegrate heterodyne sulfurette carburet

noun

3 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
a whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts
Broaderwhole
2.
(chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight
Synonymschemical compound
Broaderchemical
Narrowervanillin acceptor adduct antiknock acid arsenide hydrogen cyanide anionic compound base binary compound
chemistry
3.
an enclosure of residences and other building (especially in the Orient)
Broaderenclosure

adjective

3 sensesA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

1.
composed of more than one part
“compound leaves are composed of several lobes”
“compound flower heads”
Antonymssimple
Similarbilobate binate bipartite bipinnate bipinnatifid cleft conjugate decompound
botany
2.
consisting of two or more substances or ingredients or elements or parts
“soap is a compound substance”
“housetop is a compound word”
“a blackberry is a compound fruit”
Similarcomplex
3.
composed of many distinct individuals united to form a whole or colony
“coral is a colonial organism”
Synonymscolonial
Similarcomplex
zoology

Other forms of compound

plural: compounds·
past tense: compounded·
present participle: compounding·

Questions about compound

What does compound mean?: compound means "make more intense, stronger, or more marked". That is the primary sense; the word has 11 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in compound?: compound has 2 syllables: com-pound. The stress falls on "com". In IPA it is /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/.
What is another word for compound?: Close synonyms include intensify, heighten, deepen, combine, combine. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
What is the opposite of compound?: The recorded antonyms are simple.
Is compound a common word?: compound is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Tools

Jump to

Images & video

PDF & writing

Calculate & convert

Health & fitness

AI, code & work

Learn & play

Tool directories

Search

Jump to

Explore AltFTool

Help

Theme

compound

verb

noun

adjective

Other forms of compound

Questions about compound

Tools

Jump to

Images & video

PDF & writing

Calculate & convert

Health & fitness

AI, code & work

Learn & play

Tool directories

Search

Jump to

Explore AltFTool

Help

Theme

compound

verb

noun

adjective

Other forms of compound

Questions about compound