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Word Analysis

sulfamethoxazole

Complete linguistic analysis including syllable division, pronunciation, morphology, and definitions.

6 syllables
16 characters
English (US)
Enriched
6syllables

sulfamethoxazole

Linguistic Analysis

Syllables

sul-fa-meth-ox-a-zole

Pronunciation

/ˌsʌl.fə.mɛθˈɑk.sə.zoʊl/

Stress

200100

Morphemes

sulfa- + meth-ox- + -azole

Sulfamethoxazole is a 6-syllable pharmaceutical compound: sul-fa-meth-ox-a-zole (/ˌsʌl.fə.mɛθˈɑk.sə.zoʊl/). It comprises the prefix 'sulfa-' (sulfonamide class), roots 'meth-' (methyl) and '-ox-' (oxygen), and suffix '-azole' (nitrogen heterocycle). Primary stress falls on 'ox' (4th syllable), with secondary stress on 'sul' (1st syllable). Syllabification follows morpheme boundaries and standard English phonotactic constraints.

Definitions

noun
  1. 1

    A sulfonamide antibiotic medication used to treat bacterial infections by inhibiting bacterial folic acid synthesis

    “The doctor prescribed sulfamethoxazole combined with trimethoprim for the urinary tract infection.”

    “Sulfamethoxazole is commonly used in the treatment of Pneumocystis pneumonia.”

    syn:SMXsulfisoxazole (related drug)

Stress pattern

Secondary stress on first syllable 'sul', primary stress on fourth syllable 'ox'. Pattern: sul(2)-fa(0)-meth(0)-ox(1)-a(0)-zole(0)

Syllables

6
sul/sʌl/
fa/fə/
meth/mɛθ/
ox/ɑk/
a/sə/
zole/zoʊl/

sul — Closed syllable (CVC), secondary stress. fa — Open syllable (CV), unstressed, reduced vowel. meth — Closed syllable (CVC), unstressed. ox — Closed syllable (VC), primary stress. a — Open syllable with onset from preceding 'x', unstressed. zole — Closed syllable (CVVC), unstressed

Word Parts

pre

sulfa-

From sulfanilamide; Latin 'sulfur' + German chemical nomenclature; indicates sulfonamide drug class

root

meth-ox-

Compound root: 'meth-' from Greek 'methy' (methyl group); '-ox-' from Greek 'oxys' (oxygen-related)

suf

-azole

Chemical suffix from French 'azote' (nitrogen); denotes five-membered heterocyclic ring containing nitrogen

Similar Words

sul­fa­sal­a­zinemeth­o­trex­ateke­to­con­a­zole

Morpheme Boundary Rule

Syllable breaks align with morpheme boundaries: sulfa- | meth- | -ox- | -azole

Maximal Onset Principle

Consonants attach to following vowels where phonotactically legal (e.g., /f/ to 'a' in 'fa', /z/ to 'ole' in 'zole')

Illegal Onset Prevention

Clusters like /fm/ or /θɑ/ are not legal English onsets, forcing splits at 'sul-fa' and 'meth-ox'

X-Cluster Division

The letter 'x' represents /ks/; /k/ closes 'ox' syllable while /s/ joins as onset to following syllable

  • Pharmaceutical compound name following systematic chemical nomenclature
  • Morphological boundaries take precedence over purely phonetic syllabification
  • British vs American pronunciation: /ɒ/ vs /ɑ/ for 'ox' syllable
  • In rapid speech, syllable boundaries may shift (e.g., 'meth-ox' → 'me-thox')
  • The 'a' before 'zole' can alternatively be analyzed as part of '-azole' suffix, yielding 'ox-a-zole' or 'ox-az-ole' depending on analysis
Analysis by claude · 12/29/2025

Nearby Words

17 words
sulfamethoxazole(current)
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