Ensuing

How to spell ensuing

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce ensuing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ensuing mean?

1. adjectiveHappening or coming immediately after something else, often as a result of it.

Ensuing in a sentence

• The merger was announced, and the ensuing months brought heavy job cuts.

• After the referee's decision, the ensuing argument delayed the match.

Where does ensuing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb insequi, which meant 'to follow after' or 'to pursue', built from the prefix in- ('upon, after') and sequi ('to follow'). That Latin verb passed into Old French as ensivre or ensuir, meaning 'to follow' or 'to come next', and English took it up in the late 1300s as the verb 'ensue'. The form 'ensuing' is the participle, and from late Middle English it settled into its modern role describing whatever comes next in sequence or as a result. The buried sequi root is shared with a whole family of English words such as 'sequence', 'consequence', 'sequel', and 'pursue', all of which carry the idea of one thing following another. Remembering that 'sue' here is the same 'follow' element as in 'pursue' helps explain why it is spelled en-sue rather than en-soo.

How the word is built

• en- (from Latin in-, 'upon/after')
• -sue- (from Latin sequi, 'to follow')
• -ing (present participle/adjective suffix)