reduplication

noun

re·​du·​pli·​ca·​tion ri-ˌdü-pli-ˈkā-shən 

ˌrē-,

-ˈdyü-

1

: an act or instance of doubling or reiterating

2

a

: an often grammatically functional repetition of a radical element or a part of it occurring usually at the beginning of a word and often accompanied by change of the radical vowel

b(1)

: a word or form produced by reduplication

(2)

: the repeated element in such a word or form

3

: anadiplosis

reduplicative

ri-ˈdü-pli-ˌkā-tiv 

ˌrē-

-ˈdyü-

adjective

reduplicatively adverb

Synonyms

• carbon
• carbon copy
• clone
• copy
• dummy
• dupe
• duplicate
• duplication
• facsimile
• imitation
• mock
• replica
• replication
• reproduction

Examples of reduplication in a Sentence

that old-looking colonial mansion is actually a 20th-century reduplication of the original, which was destroyed many years ago

ever since I was forced to do a reduplication of a day's work, I've been more conscientious about hitting my computer's “save” button

Recent Examples on the Web

And yet…the rhyme schemes, the reduplication, the semantic shifts, the conversions, the deliberate grammatical oddities, and rich double entendres–Carpenter is, for some people, the greatest poet to have ever put pen to paper. —Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2024

TikTok is a compound word that’s called (take a deep breath) an ablaut-shift reduplication because only the internal vowel changes. —Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Mar. 2024

The collection, dubbed with another fun reduplication, Bon Bon, was inspired by the packaging for the Apple AirPods. —Leilani Marie Labong, SFChronicle.com, 26 June 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

reduplication

noun

re·​du·​pli·​ca·​tion ri-ˌd(y)ü-pli-ˈkā-shən 

ˌrē-

: an act or instance of doubling or repeating : duplication

reduplicative

ri-ˈd(y)ü-pli-ˌkāt-iv 

ˈrē-

adjective

Medical Definition

reduplication

noun

re·​du·​pli·​ca·​tion ri-ˌd(y)ü-pli-ˈkā-shən, ˌrē- 

: an act or instance of doubling

reduplication of the chromosomes