Quaternary — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

last 2 million years

the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kwətˈɜːnɚɹi/

🇬🇧British English

/kwətˈɜːnəɹi/

🇮🇳Indian English

/kwətˈɜːnəɹi/

4 syllables Say it as /kwətˈɜːnɚɹi/.

Examples

quaternate leaves
a quaternary compound
the quaternary period of geologic time extends from the end of the tertiary period to the present

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

IV 4th Age of Man four 4 Little Joe quaternion quaternity quaternate tetrad fourth quartet quadruplet Quaternary period quatern foursome

Parts of Speech

noun	last 2 million years
noun	the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
adjective	consisting of or especially arranged in sets of four “quaternate leaves”
adjective	coming next after the third and just before the fifth in position or time or degree or magnitude “the quaternary period of geologic time extends from the end of the tertiary period to the present”

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Quartär

letzten 2 Millionen Jahre

🇫🇷French

quaternaire

2 derniers millions d'années

🇪🇸Spanish

cuaternario

últimos 2 millones de años

🇮🇹Italian

quaternario

ultimi 2 milioni di anni

🇳🇱Dutch

quaternair

laatste 2 miljoen jaar

🇵🇹Portuguese

quaternário

últimos 2 milhões de anos

🇷🇺Russian

четвертичный период

последние 2 миллиона лет

India

🇮🇳Hindi

चारों भागों का

पिछले 2 मिलियन वर्ष

🇧🇩Bengali

চতুর্মুখী

গত 2 মিলিয়ন বছর

🇮🇳Tamil

நாலாந்தர

கடந்த 2 மில்லியன் ஆண்டுகள்

🇮🇳Telugu

చతుర్భుజి

గత 2 మిలియన్ సంవత్సరాల

🇮🇳Marathi

चतुर्थांश

मागील 2 दशलक्ष वर्षे

🇮🇳Gujarati

ચતુર્થાંશ

છેલ્લા 2 મિલિયન વર્ષો

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕ್ವಾಟರ್ನರಿ

ಕಳೆದ 2 ಮಿಲಿಯನ್ ವರ್ಷಗಳ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ചതുർഭുജം

കഴിഞ്ഞ 2 ദശലക്ഷം വർഷങ്ങൾ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਚਤੁਰਭੁਜ

ਪਿਛਲੇ 2 ਮਿਲੀਅਨ ਸਾਲ

🇵🇰Urdu

چوتھائی

گزشتہ 2 ملین سال

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

第四纪

过去200万年

🇯🇵Japanese

第四次

過去200万年

🇰🇷Korean

네개 한 조인 것

지난 2백만년

🇻🇳Vietnamese

bậc bốn

2 triệu năm qua

🇹🇭Thai

ควอเตอร์นารี

เมื่อ 2 ล้านปีก่อน

🇮🇩Indonesian

kuaterner

2 juta tahun terakhir

🇲🇾Malay

kuartener

2 juta tahun lepas

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

رباعي

آخر 2 مليون سنة

🇮🇷Persian

چهارتایی

2 میلیون سال گذشته

🇹🇷Turkish

dördüncül

son 2 milyon yıl

🇮🇱Hebrew

רבעוני

2 מיליון השנים האחרונות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'quaternary'?

The primary meaning of 'quaternary' is 'last 2 million years'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'quaternary' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'quaternary' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'quaternary' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'quaternary' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'quaternary' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'quaternary' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'quaternary' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'quaternary' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'quaternary' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'quaternary' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted