Accommodate means to provide suitable space or adjust to meet someone's needs or requests. It can also mean to fit or be suitable for a circumstance, often requiring flexibility or concessions. The word carries a formal nuance but is common in both spoken and written English, used when offering lodging, making arrangements, or adjusting to circumstances.
- You’ll often misplace the stress, saying ac-COM-mo-date or a-COM-mo-date. The fix: practice the two-step rhythm lifting the second syllable with clear vowel quality. - Middle syllable vowel confusion: keep /ɒ/ distinct from /ə/ in ac- COM -mo -date; don’t reduce /ɒ/ to /ə/. - Final cluster: ensure you don’t add an extra syllable or drop the /date/ sound; practice ending with a crisp /ˈdeɪt/. - Use minimal pairs to lock in the pattern, and record yourself to hear when the rhythm collapses.
US: rhotic /r/ is not a factor in accommodate, but the /ɒ/ can become a more open /ɑ/ in some speakers. UK: crisper /ɒ/ and a slower pace; non-rhotic, with strong final /t/. AU: vowel quality can be broader, with a slightly longer diphthong /əˈkɒm(ə)ˌdeɪt/. IPA references: /əˈkɒməˌdeɪt/. Mix practiced mouth positions—start with a relaxed schwa, move to rounded /ɒ/ and end with /deɪt/.
"The hotel can accommodate guests with special dietary needs."
"The program was redesigned to accommodate new safety guidelines."
"She tried to accommodate everyone’s schedules by proposing multiple meeting times."
"The software was updated to accommodate users with disabilities."
Accommodate comes from the Latin accommodare, meaning to fit or join to, from ad- (toward) + commendare (to commit, or to entrust). The root commendare is related to the Latin com- (together) and mendare (to entrust). The sense evolved in English through Old French accommodation before entering Middle English in the 14th century. Early uses emphasized making things fit or suit a situation or person, often in a physical sense (providing lodging or space). By the 17th–18th centuries, the verb also carried social senses: to oblige or to adjust behavior to be agreeable to others. In modern usage, accommodate covers both tangible provisioning (rooms, space) and abstract flexibility (agreeing to preferences, adapting processes). The word’s un-stressed syllables and the unusual double consonants (cc, mm) can make pronunciation tricky for learners and non-native speakers, contributing to common mispronunciations in English. First known use in Middle English through Old French, with attested forms such as accomodaten and accommodated appearing by the 15th century, reflecting spelling variation before standardization in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Accommodate" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Accommodate" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Accommodate"
-ate sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as /əˈkɒməˌdeɪt/ in US and UK; three syllables with primary stress on the second syllable and secondary stress on the last: a-COM-mo-date. In careful speech you may hear /əˈkɒm.ə.deɪt/, ensuring the /ɒ/ in the second syllable is rounded and the /deɪt/ is clear. Mouth position: start with a relaxed schwa, then a rounded open back vowel, finish with a clear /teɪt/ or /deɪt/. Audio examples: consult a reputable dictionary or Forvo for native speaker pronunciation.
Common mistakes: (1) Dropping the second syllable or the final /deɪt/; (2) Misplacing stress, saying a-COM-mo-date or ac-COM-mo-date; (3) Slurring the /mm/ cluster into a single nasal; (4) Mispronouncing the /ɒ/ as a short /æ/ or /ɑ/. Corrections: practice the three-syllable rhythm a-COM-mo-date with clear nucleus vowels, place primary stress on the second syllable, and produce a crisp /t/ at the end. Use minimal pairs and slow drills to ensure the middle segment is not reduced.
US/UK/AU share the same general structure: a-COM-mo-date with stress on the second syllable. In US, the /ɒ/ in the second syllable may sound closer to /ɑ/ in some regions, and the final /eɪt/ can be pronounced as /eɪt/ or reduced to /ət/ in rapid speech. UK tends to preserve a crisper /ɒ/ and may have a slightly longer finale /ˈdeɪt/. Australian often shows a broader /æ/ or /ɒ/ in the second syllable and a final vowel more clipped. Practice with IPA: /əˈkɒməˌdeɪt/ (US/UK) and /əˈkɒməˌdeɪt/ (AU) with attention to rhotics.
Two main challenges: (1) The three-syllable rhythm with two soft vowels and a strong final /deɪt/ can trip non-native speakers who expect shorter, simpler words; (2) The /kɒm/ cluster followed by /mə/ can blur if you don’t circle the syllable boundary clearly, leading to an indistinct middle. Focus on separate syllables a- COM -mo -date, exaggerating the middle vowel and final /deɪt/ in practice until you blend smoothly.
Does the word ever reduce to two syllables in casual speech? Occasionally in fast American English you might hear 'accommodate' pronounced as a-COM-mate with some listeners merging the middle vowel and reducing the /deɪt/ to a syllabic /ˈdeɪt/; however, this is regional and often considered less clear in formal contexts. For clarity, keep the three-syllable structure: a-COM-mo-date with both primary and secondary rhythm cues.
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- Shadowing: imitate a native speaker saying a-COM-mo-date at natural speed, then slow to deliberate; record and compare to reference. - Minimal pairs: compare a- COM -mo -date with a- COM -mit? (not identical but similar stress) to feel the middle vowel add: a-COM-mo-date vs a-KOM-mo-date; speed up gradually. - Rhythm practice: clamped to strong beat on second syllable; use metronome at 60 BPM for 3–4 seconds per cycle. - Stress practice: practice sentences with forced stress on the second syllable: It’s important to a-COM-mo-date every request. - Recording practice: record your own attempts, then listen for vowels, syllable count, and ending clarity.
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