Anesthetic pronunciation
Anesthetic has 4 syllables. The stress is on the third syllable, "theh". Capital letters in the respelling show where the stress falls.
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Press record, say "anesthetic" once or twice at normal speed, then stop. You will see which syllables matched and what to change.
Anesthetic syllables
Anesthetic has 4 syllables: a-nuhs-THEH-tihk.
- aæ
- nuhsnəs
- THEHθɛ
- tihktɪk
Stress "thet": an-us-THET-ik.
Sounds to watch
The th sound
Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and let air pass over it. Do not swap it for a t, d, s, or z sound.
Weak syllables
The unstressed syllables use a short, relaxed uh (schwa). Rushing through them lightly is correct; giving them a full vowel sounds unnatural.
Short i versus ee
The short i (as in sit) is shorter and more relaxed than ee. Many learners stretch it into ee, which changes the word.
The a in cat
Open the jaw wider than for eh and spread the lips slightly. The a in cat is a distinct vowel, not eh or ah.
Anesthetic in a sentence
- The dentist applied a local anesthetic before starting.
- She woke from the anesthetic about an hour after surgery.
Read either sentence into the recorder above. The check judges only the target word, so the rest of the sentence can be rough.
What Speakeroo listens for
These are the pronunciation patterns from Speakeroo’s speech feature catalog that this target tends to expose. The check above reports the ones it hears.
- Voiceless th /θ/ replacedPlace the tongue lightly between the teeth and release air without voicing.
- /t/ or /d/ used for thKeep a narrow airflow gap instead of fully blocking the air.
- Stress placed on the wrong syllableMake the correct syllable longer, clearer and more prominent.
- Final consonant omittedHold the final mouth position briefly without adding another vowel.
- Schwa not reducedRelax unstressed vowels toward a short neutral sound.
Questions
How do you pronounce anesthetic?
Anesthetic is pronounced /ˌæ.nəs.ˈθɛ.tɪk/, or a-nuhs-THEH-tihk in plain letters. It has 4 syllables and the stress falls on the third syllable, "theh".
How many syllables are in anesthetic?
4: a-nuhs-THEH-tihk. The capital letters mark the stressed syllable.
How do you use anesthetic in a sentence?
The dentist applied a local anesthetic before starting. She woke from the anesthetic about an hour after surgery.
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