Anxiety pronunciation
Anxiety has 4 syllables. The stress is on the second syllable, "zeye". Capital letters in the respelling show where the stress falls.
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Anxiety syllables
Anxiety has 4 syllables: ang-ZEYE-uh-tee.
- angæŋ
- ZEYEzaɪ
- uhə
- teeti
Ang-ZY-uh-tee, four syllables, stress on "zy". The x is pronounced "gz", not "ks" — the same shift as in "exact" — and the stress moves off the first syllable that "anxious" has.
Sounds to watch
Weak syllables
The unstressed syllables use a short, relaxed uh (schwa). Rushing through them lightly is correct; giving them a full vowel sounds unnatural.
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.
The ng sound
The ng is one nasal sound made with the back of the tongue. There is no separate hard g after it.
Anxiety in a sentence
- Exam anxiety kept her awake for most of the night.
- His anxiety eased once the results came through.
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.
- Stress placed on the wrong syllableMake the correct syllable longer, clearer and more prominent.
- Schwa not reducedRelax unstressed vowels toward a short neutral sound.
- Diphthong flattened into one vowelMove smoothly between both vowel positions.
- Every syllable stressed equallyEmphasise one main syllable and reduce the others.
Questions
How do you pronounce anxiety?
Anxiety is pronounced /æŋ.ˈzaɪ.ə.ti/, or ang-ZEYE-uh-tee in plain letters. It has 4 syllables and the stress falls on the second syllable, "zeye".
How many syllables are in anxiety?
4: ang-ZEYE-uh-tee. The capital letters mark the stressed syllable.
How do you use anxiety in a sentence?
Exam anxiety kept her awake for most of the night. His anxiety eased once the results came through.
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