penultimate
Syllables: pen·ul·tim·ate/pɪˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/
penultimate adjective: next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.
Adjective
penultimate (not comparable)
- Next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.
- […] they [the sounds of an echo] next strike the ultimate secondary object, then the penultimate and antepenultimate; […]1677, Robert Plot, “Of the Heavens and Air”, in The natural history of Oxford-shire: Being an Essay Toward the Natural History of England, page 15
- But it should frequently happen that offspring should resemble its penultimate rather than its latest phase, and should thus be more like a grand-parent than a parent.1878, Samuel Butler, chapter 10, in Life and Habit
- Synonyms:
- next to last, next-to-last, second to last, second-to-last, second from last, second-from-last, second last, second-last, last but one, last penultimate but one
- Of or pertaining to a penult.
- Relating to or denoting an element of a related collection of curves that is arbitrarily close to a degenerate form.
- pre-eminent, ultimate, best; par excellence, top-quality
- This Book is the Proud Purple Penultimate!!1907 Gelett Burgess Are You a Bromide? (New York: B. W. Heubsch) cover blurb
- This treatment, where two therapists massage the body using warm oils infused with plant extracts, is truly the penultimate experience.2002 January, Claire Holt, "California Driving", Los Angeles →ISSN volume 47 no 1 p. 84
Noun
penultimate (plural penultimates)
- A penult, a next to last, particularly
- Our Lutheran concern for the ultimates (the Gospel) has allowed us to neglect some of the penultimates (bodily healing), failing to stress the total implications of that ultimate Gospel.1962, Minutes of the Adjourned Meeting of 22nd Biennial Convention of the United Lutheran Church in America, XXII.iv
- Synonyms:
- penult
- The penultimate day of a month.
- At Woodstock, the penultimate of August.1529 August 30, Bishop Stephen Gardiner, letter (1933), 33
- Synonyms:
- penult
- The penultimate syllable of a word or metrical line.
- Antepenultimate is that before the Penultimate, or the last but two.1728, E. Chambers, Cyclopædia
- Synonyms:
- penult
- The penultimate element of a collection of curves.
- Synonyms:
- penult
- The penultimate (next to lowest) card in a suit.
- Penultimate, the. — Beginning with the lowest card but one of the suit you lead originally, if it contains more than four cards.1876, Arthur Campbell-Walker, The Correct Card, Glossary page xiii
- Synonyms:
- penult
penultimate meaning in Tamil, Kannada, Malay and Indonesian
penultimate in Tamil
- ஈற்றயல், கடைசிக்கு முந்திய, கடைசிக்கு முந்தைய
penultimate in Kannada
- ಕೊನೆಯದರ ಹಿಂದಿನ, ಉಪಾಂತ
penultimate in Malay
- next-to-last in a sequence
- praakhir
penultimate in Indonesian
- next-to-last in a sequence
- kedua terakhir
More languagesFewer languages
- penultimate in Persian
- یکی مانده به آخر yeki-mânde-be-âxar
Examples of penultimate in a sentence
- While the final episode was made, the show itself was immediately cancelled after the penultimate episode i.e. the final episode never aired.
- Subsequent intramolecular cyclization of strictosidine yielded strictosamide, a penultimate precursor of CAM formation in C.
- The penultimate row provides chi-square tests of the difference between ES and CG engagements.
Synonyms of penultimate
- next to last
- next-to-last
- second to last
- second-to-last
- second from last
- second-from-last
- second last
- second-last
- last but one
- last penultimate but one
1 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of penultimate
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| alternative form (archaic) | pænultimate |
| Noun | |
| plural | penultimates |
Origin of penultimate
From Latin paenultimus (“penultimate”) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix), from paene (“almost”) + ultimus (“last”). Equivalent to pene- + ultimate. Compare French pénultième.
From a substantivation of the above adjective. Equivalent to Latin paenultimus + -ate (noun-forming suffix).
Words formed from penultimate
Words that rhyme with penultimate
Questions about penultimate
- What does penultimate mean?
- Penultimate means next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.
- What is penultimate in Tamil?
- Penultimate in Tamil is ஈற்றயல், கடைசிக்கு முந்திய, கடைசிக்கு முந்தைய. See Penultimate meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is penultimate?
- Penultimate can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce penultimate?
- Penultimate is pronounced /pɪˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/.
Words near penultimate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: penultimate (page history and authors); penultimate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); penultimate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-penultimate.ogg, En-au-penultimate.ogg.
Cite this entry: “penultimate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/penultimate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.