lenition
1 antonym for lenition — opposites grouped by meaning.
Noun — In phonetics and phonology, a weakening in how a consonant is pronounced, making it softer.
Antonyms
fortition
How to use lenition
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
undergo lenition
a case of lenition
lenition of a consonant
patterns of lenition
This is a specialist linguistics term, rarely used outside academic writing.
Etymology
Lenition is built from lenis, meaning soft, with the ending -ition added to form a noun of action. It can also be traced to the Latin lēnītiō, meaning softening, itself from lēniō, to soften; English writers likely also had the German word Lenierung in mind when they settled on this spelling.
Full origin of lenition →Frequently asked questions
What does lenition mean?
Lenition is a linguistics term for a consonant becoming softer or weaker in pronunciation, for example a hard stop turning into a smoother sound.
What is the opposite of lenition?
The opposite process, where a consonant becomes harder or stronger rather than softer, is called fortition.
Where does the word lenition come from?
It comes from the Latin word for soft, lenis, combined with a suffix that turns it into a noun describing an action or process.
