Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

basilisk

/ˈbæzɪlɪsk/

IPA accent not specified by source

Press play to hear how to pronounce basilisk.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:39
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does basilisk mean?

noun

  1. A mythical snake-like dragon, so venomous that even its gaze is deadly.
  2. A type of dragon used in heraldry.
  3. Any tree-dwelling lizard of the genus Basiliscus: the basilisk lizard.
More meanings (3)

noun

  1. A type of large brass cannon.
  2. An infohazard or cognitohazard, especially a Langford's basilisk.

adjective

  1. Suggesting a basilisk (snake-like dragon): baleful, spellbinding.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈbæzɪlɪsk/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other dictionary pronunciations

/ˈbæsɪlɪsk/

These alternatives are not labeled by regional accent.

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

But as I did so the head turned, and the eyes fell full upon me, with all their blaze of basilisk horror.
Bram StokerDraculaProject Gutenberg ebook #345
There was scarcely an obscure village to be found wherein this bewitching basilisk did not exercise its powers of fascination and destruction.
Andrew SteinmetzThe Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims. Volume 1 (of 2)Project Gutenberg ebook #466
More book examples (3)
Let us imagine him to be gifted with the powers of the fabled basilisk, "to monarchise, be feared, and kill with looks."
William GodwinThoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions and Discoveries Interspersed with Some Particulars Respecting the AuthorProject Gutenberg ebook #743
He also gives a reason for supposing that the same divine mercy has provided that the crowing of a cock will kill the basilisk.
Andrew Dickson WhiteHistory of the Warfare of Science with Theology in ChristendomProject Gutenberg ebook #505
It was well for the wretch, that I did not possess the eyes of a basilisk, for I should certainly have blasted him on the spot.
M. L. (Mason Locke) WeemsThe Life of General Francis MarionProject Gutenberg ebook #846