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penultimate

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penultimate¹

  • /pɪˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/
  • /pɛˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/

Rhymes with -ʌltɪmət

Where it comes from

From Latin paenultimus (“penultimate”) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix), from paene (“almost”) + ultimus (“last”). Equivalent to pene- + ultimate. Compare French pénultième.

adjective pænultimate

  1. UK, literary, not comparable, in US usually formal 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; […]

    Similar: 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

  2. not comparable Of or pertaining to a penult.
  3. not comparable, rare Relating to or denoting an element of a related collection of curves that is arbitrarily close to a degenerate form.
  4. not comparable, proscribed pre-eminent, ultimate, best; par excellence, top-quality This Book is the Proud Purple Penultimate!!

Opposite: second

penultimate²

  • /pɪˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/
  • /pɛˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/

Rhymes with -ʌltɪmət

Where it comes from

From a substantivation of the above adjective. Equivalent to Latin paenultimus + -ate (noun-forming suffix).

noun penultimates · pænultimate

  1. uncommon 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.

    Similar: penult

  2. obsolete, rare, uncommon The penultimate day of a month. At Woodstock, the penultimate of August.

    Similar: penult

  3. uncommon The penultimate syllable of a word or metrical line. Antepenultimate is that before the Penultimate, or the last but two.

    Similar: penult

  4. obsolete, rare, uncommon The penultimate element of a collection of curves.

    Similar: penult

  5. uncommon 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.

    Similar: penult

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: penult, penultima, next-to-last, last, second last, pænultimate, antepenultimate, propenultimate, antepaenultimate, preantepenultimate, propreantepenultimate, antepænultimate, forelast, prefinal, ultimate, postfinal

adjective

Opposite: second

Translations

Every language

adj next-to-last in a sequence

Españolpenúltimo, anteúltimo
日本語最後から二番目 saigo kara ni-banme, 次末 jimatsu
中文倒數第二的 /倒数第二的 dàoshǔ dì'èr de
Portuguêspenúltimo
Françaisavant-dernier, pénultième
Deutschvorletzte
Italianopenultimo
Ελληνικάπροτελευταίος proteleftaíos
Românăpenultim
Русскийпредпосле́дний predposlédnij

noun before the last

Españolpenúltimo, anteúltimo
Françaisavant-dernier
Deutschvorletzt
Italianopenultimo
Русскийпредпосле́дний predposlédnij

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Cite this
MLA

"penultimate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/penultimate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

penultimate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/penultimate

Chicago

"penultimate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/penultimate.

BibTeX
@misc{penultimate_2026,
  title = {penultimate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/penultimate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}