Word.ws English Dictionary

run-on sentence

run-on sentence noun: a written sentence that inappropriately joins two (or more) independent clauses into a single sentence, often with only a comma as separator (comma splice), which should be rendered either as separate sentences or as clauses joined more appropriately (such as by a semicolon or by a comma and coordinating conjunction).

Noun

run-on sentence (plural run-on sentences)

  1. A written sentence that inappropriately joins two (or more) independent clauses into a single sentence, often with only a comma as separator (comma splice), which should be rendered either as separate sentences or as clauses joined more appropriately (such as by a semicolon or by a comma and coordinating conjunction).
    Synonyms:
    fused sentence
    1. A written sentence with a coordinating conjunction but missing a comma.
  2. Any very long, often also in other ways badly formed or even chaotic sentence.

Synonyms of run-on sentence

Forms of run-on sentence

pluralrun-on sentences

Origin of run-on sentence

So called because the sentence runs on beyond the point where it should end.

Questions about run-on sentence

What does run-on sentence mean?
Run-on sentence means a written sentence that inappropriately joins two (or more) independent clauses into a single sentence, often with only a comma as separator (comma splice), which should be rendered either as separate sentences or as clauses joined more appropriately (such as by a semicolon or by a comma and coordinating conjunction).
What part of speech is run-on sentence?
Run-on sentence is a noun.
What is the plural of run-on sentence?
The plural of run-on sentence is run-on sentences.

Words near run-on sentence in the dictionary

  1. run-of-the-mill
  2. run-of-the-river
  3. run-off
  4. run-offs
  5. run-on
  6. run-on sentence
  7. run-on sentences
  8. run-ons
  9. run-out
  10. run-outs
  11. run-rate

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: run-on sentence (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.

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Cite this entry: “run-on sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/run-on_sentence. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.