Basic Details
Word: Admiral
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A naval officer of very high rank who commands a fleet of ships; also the name of some butterflies, such as the red admiral.
Synonyms: commander
Word origin: Comes from Arabic amir, commander, as in amir al-bahr, commander of the sea, through Old French amiral.
How to Spell Admiral
Syllables: ad - mi - ral
Tricky part: The middle vowel is i and the ending is al. Because both are weak sounds, students write admiril or admirel.
Watch out for: admirel, admeral, admiril
Memory tip: For the spelling only, picture an officer the sailors admire: take admire, drop the e and add al.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The admiral inspected the ships at the naval dock in Visakhapatnam.
Example 2: A red admiral butterfly landed on the hibiscus in our garden.
Example 3: Grandfather served under an admiral in the Indian Navy.
Fun Fact
Despite the look of the word, admiral has nothing to do with admire; the d probably crept in from a mistaken link with Latin admirari, to wonder at.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
A retired lmaadri opened the sports day at the naval school.
a) mineral
b) animal
c) admiral
d) admirer
Show answer
c) admiral. Admirer needs an e and a second r, and animal and mineral both need an n.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The admirel stood on the deck of the warship, watching the smaller boats sail past the lighthouse towards the harbour.
a) warship
b) deck
c) admirel
d) lighthouse
Show answer
c) admirel. The last sound is spelt al, as in general and naval.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. mariner 2. lieutenant 3. admeral 4. cadet
a) a naval officer of very high rank
b) a sailor on a ship
c) a young person training to be an officer
d) an officer of low rank in the army or navy
Show answer
a) a naval officer of very high rank. After adm comes an i, not an e: ad-mi-ral.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An admiral works mainly ____.
a) in a bank
b) in a hospital
c) in a school
d) in the navy
Show answer
d) in the navy
2. A red admiral is a kind of ____.
a) fish
b) butterfly
c) ship
d) flag
Show answer
b) butterfly
