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say it: hahy-bur-NAY-shuhn
hibernation is a noun meaning "the torpid or resting state in which some animals pass the winter". It carries 3 recorded senses.
the torpid or resting state in which some animals pass the winter
cessation from or slowing of activity during the winter; especially slowing of metabolism in some animals
the act of retiring into inactivity
“he emerged from his hibernation to make his first appearance in several years”
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.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for hibernation 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.