Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having or consisting of ten syllables: The word "decasyllabic" describes a line of verse, a word, or a metrical unit that contains exactly ten syllables.

Usage

• The term is primarily used in the analysis of poetry and prosody (the study of meter and rhythm in verse). It specifies the syllabic length of a poetic line.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The poet wrote a decasyllabic line that followed a strict iambic rhythm.
  • Many sonnets are written in decasyllabic verses, such as those by Shakespeare.
  • Is the word "university" considered decasyllabic"? No, it has only five syllables.

Advanced Usage

• Decasyllabic verse: A common term referring to a line of poetry with ten syllables. In English, this often corresponds to iambic pentameter.
  • Iambic pentameter is a decasyllabic meter consisting of five iambic feet.

Variants and Related Words

• Decasyllable (noun): A line of verse consisting of ten syllables.
  • The sonnet is composed of fourteen decasyllables.

Synonyms

• Ten-syllable: A more general, descriptive synonym.
  • The line is a ten-syllable couplet.

Antonyms

• Monosyllabic: Having one syllable.
• Polysyllabic: Having more than one syllable (often used for words with many syllables, not specifically for verse lines of a different count).

Adjective

1. having or characterized by or consisting of ten syllables