Pronunciation guide
How to pronounce medieval
mid-EE-vul (US, three syllables) or med-ee-EE-vul (UK, four); 'MEE-dee-vul' is also heard
US/mɪdˈi.vəl/
mɪdivəl
UK/ˌmɛd.iˈiː.vəl/
mɛdiiːvəl
New to IPA symbols? Read the IPA guide.
What “medieval” means
Of or relating to the Middle Ages, roughly the 5th to the 15th century in Europe.
Resembling the Middle Ages in being primitive, harsh, or outdated.
In a sentence
- The town's medieval cathedral took more than a century to build.
- He called the prison's conditions positively medieval.
Definitions and examples are derived from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, then edited by QuickPronounce. Pronunciation data draws on CMUdict.