hiatus
- 01 C1 Advanced
a period of time when something stops happening before it starts again.
a temporary gap, pause, or interruption in a continuous process or series.
Simple“The band is taking a long hiatus to spend more time with their families.”
In context“After a three-year hiatus from the screen, the actress returned to star in a critically acclaimed independent drama.”
UsageOften used with the verbs 'take' or 'go on'.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C2 Proficiency
a natural opening or gap in an organ or part of the body.
a natural opening or passage through a bone or muscular structure.
Simple“A hiatal hernia happens when part of the stomach pushes through a hiatus in the diaphragm.”
In context“The surgeon carefully identified the esophageal hiatus to ensure the repair did not restrict the patient's ability to swallow.”
UsageUsually refers to the opening in the diaphragm for the esophagus.
- 03 C2 Proficiency
the sound of two vowel sounds coming together without a consonant between them.
the occurrence of two vowel sounds in adjacent syllables without an intervening consonant.
Simple“In the word 'cooperate', there is a hiatus between the two 'o' sounds.”
In context“The poet avoided hiatus in his verses, preferring the smooth flow provided by elision or intervening consonants.”
UsageCommonly discussed in linguistics and classical prosody.
Antonymsdiphthong
“As the band became rock heavyweights in the late 70s, Beard experienced drug addiction, leading to the band taking a hiatus.”
“Pinkerton flopped ; Cuomo put Weezer on hiatus and went into hiding.”
Learned borrowing from Latin hiātus (“opening”) (mid-16th century), from hiō (“stand open, yawn”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.