quasi-

See also: quasi

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin quasi (“almost, as it were”), from quam (interrogative adverb) + sī (conditional particle).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkweɪ.zaɪ/, /ˈkweɪ.saɪ/, /kwɑːzi/, /kwɑːsi/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /kwɑːzi/, /kwæzi/, /-aɪ/, /-ʌɪ/
• Rhymes: -ɑːzi
• Homophone: quasi

Prefix

quasi-

1. Almost, virtually.
   • 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 18:

     The quasi-death of insanity with its small periodic remissions, its deviations into good sense, even into brilliant insight, was almost more cruel really than outright death.

2. Apparently, seemingly, or resembling. [from 17th c.]
3. To a limited extent or degree, to be somewhat or partially.
   • 2020 July 20, Simon Jenkins, “Britain deserves better than an Old Etonian Donald Trump”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     The British constitution famously rests on convention. This requires a compact between politicians working as a cabinet and a quasi-independent civil service.

Usage notes

• “Quasi-” may be prefixed to nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
• Words derived from quasi- are more often spelled with a hyphen than solid. Using hyphen is recommended by GPO manual. OED2 lists the derived terms as hyphenated.

Synonyms

• (almost): pene-, sub-
• (resembling): para-, -oid, -form/-iform, -esque, -ish, -ly, -some, -y, (restricted to casual registers) -ass, (forms adjectives from nouns only) -like
• (partial): partially, demi-, semi-
• (somewhat): sort of, semi-

Derived terms

• English terms prefixed with quasi-

Derived terms

• quasiaesthetic
• quasiamicable
• quasi-arithmetical
• quasi-art
• quasiatom
• quasi-automatic
• quasi-automatically
• quasi-belief
• quasi-bialgebra
• quasi-classic
• quasi-colloquial
• quasi-continuous
• quasi-continuum
• quasicontraction
• quasi-contractual
• quasi-copula
• quasi-crime
• quasi-crystalline
• quasi-definition
• quasi-deify
• quasi-dereliction
• quasidihedral
• quasidiploid
• quasidirect
• quasi-divine
• quasi-dying
• quasi-emperor
• quasi-episcopal
• quasi-equilibrium
• quasi-eternal
• quasi-ethical
• quasi-ethically
• quasi-existence
• quasi-fascist
• quasi-feudal
• quasifunction
• quasi-general
• quasi-governmental
• quasi-grammatical
• quasi-hallucinatory
• quasi-historical
• quasi-horizontal
• quasi-implication
• quasi-independent
• quasi in rem
• quasi-instantaneous
• quasi-invariant
• quasi-jazz
• quasi-judicial
• quasi-legal
• quasi-logical
• quasi-marital
• quasi-marriage
• quasi-material
• quasi-mathematical
• quasi-mechanical
• quasi-mechanistic
• quasi-metallic
• quasi-metaphysical
• quasi-military
• quasi-miracle
• quasi-miraculous
• quasi-modal
• quasi-molecular
• quasi-molecule
• quasi-monastic
• quasi-monopoly
• quasi-mythical
• quasi-neutral
• quasi-neutrality
• quasinorm
• quasi-nuptial
• quasi-object
• quasi-official
• quasi-optical
• quasi-ossianic
• quasi-parlando
• quasi parlato
• quasi-partner
• quasi-peak
• quasi-permanent
• quasi-personal
• quasi-philosophical
• quasi-physical
• quasiplatonic
• quasiprojective
• quasi-public
• quasi-purposive
• quasiquotation
• quasiquote
• quasi-religion
• quasi-religious
• quasirhombicosidodecahedron
• quasirhombicuboctahedron
• quasiromantic
• quasi-romantic
• quasi-science
• quasi-semi
• quasi-sensation
• quasiseparable
• quasi-simultaneous
• quasi-simultaneously
• quasistability
• quasi-statement
• quasi-stationary
• quasisteady
• quasi-substance
• quasi-technical
• quasi-thermodynamic
• quasi-totalitarian
• quasi-totality
• quasitransitive
• quasitruncated
• quasi-universal
• quasi-universal
• quasi-vacuity
• quasi-verb
• quasi-war
• Quasi-War

Related terms

• quango
• quasar

Translations

almost

• Danish: kvasi-, nær-
• Finnish: kvasi- (fi)
• Polish: niby-
• Spanish: cuasi- (es)

See also

• (false) pseudo-

Further reading

• “quasi-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “quasi-”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “quasi-”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN. -- lists many derived terms

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin quasi (“as if”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˌkwa.zi]

Prefix

quasi-

1. quasi-

Derived terms

Catalan terms prefixed with quasi-

Related terms

• quasi

Further reading

• “quasi-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024

Dutch

Alternative forms

• kwasi- (before 1996)

Etymology

From Latin quasi (“as if”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʋaː.zi/

Prefix

quasi-

1. quasi-

Derived terms

Note: quasi- should be written connected to the following word, except where the vowels collide, in which case a hyphen is inserted.

• quasiauthentiek
• quasi-intellectueel
• quasimodo
• quasinonchalant
• quasionschuldig
• quasiwetenschappelijk

Descendants

• → Indonesian: kuasi-

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin quasi (“as if”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.zi/

Prefix

quasi-

1. quasi-

Derived terms

French terms prefixed with quasi-

Further reading

• “quasi-”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

From quasi, from Latin quasi (“as if”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkwa.zi/
• Hyphenation: quà‧si-

Prefix

quasi-

1. quasi-

Derived terms

• quasiconduttore
• quasicristallino
• quasimente
• quasimetallico
• quasimodo
• quasi-particella

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin quasi-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkfa.zi/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -azi
• Syllabification: qua‧si-

Prefix

quasi-

1. para-, quasi-

   Synonyms: niby-, para-

Derived terms

Category Polish terms prefixed with quasi- not found

Further reading

• quasi- in Polish dictionaries at PWN