3 syllables: ad, dress, ee. Stress on ee.
ad-res-EE
/ˌædɹɛˈsi/
addressee is pronounced ad-res-EE (/ˌædɹɛˈsi/). It has three syllables (ad-dress-ee), with the stress on "ee". Addressee refers to the person to whom something—typically a letter, package, or message—is addressed. It denotes the recipient in communications and legal documents, and is used in contrast to the sender. The term is standard in formal and semi-formal contexts, especially in logistics, mail handling, and correspondence records.
Addressee refers to the person to whom something—typically a letter, package, or message—is addressed. It denotes the recipient in communications and legal documents, and is used in contrast to the sender. The term is standard in formal and semi-formal contexts, especially in logistics, mail handling, and correspondence records.
- You may over-pronounce the middle vowel and turn ad-REES-ee into ad-REZ-ee or ad-RESS-ee. Stay crisp on /rɪ/ rather than a rounded /ər/ in non-rhotic contexts. • Try not to reduce the final /siː/ to a short /i/; keep the long E sound for clarity. • In fast speech, ensure you don’t shrink the second syllable’s vowel; hold it long enough to hear the stress peak, then glide into the final /siː/; this preserves the tri-syllabic rhythm without turning it into a flat “address.”
"The addressee’s name and address were clearly written on the envelope."
"In the contract, the addressee is obligated to comply with the terms within 30 days."
"Please confirm the addressee’s contact details before shipping the package."
Pronounce as /ˌæd.rɪˈsiː/ (US/UK/AU). Break it into three syllables: ad-REES-ee, with the primary stress on the second syllable. Start with a short, lax /æ/ as in cat, then a reduced /rɪ/ or /rə/ before the main /siː/ vowel. The final /iː/ is a long E, as in see. Keep the mouth relaxed but ready to open slightly for the /siː/ glide; avoid turning the final /iː/ into a diphthong or a schwa. Audio reference: you can compare with variations on pronunciation platforms and native speaker samples.
Common errors: misplacing the stress (saying ad-DREES-ee instead of ad-rĭ-SEE), pronouncing the first vowel as a full /æ/ with a strong /d/ leading into /r/, and shortening the final /iː/ to /ɪ/ or /i/ in rapid speech. Correction tips: emphasize second-syllable stress clearly; use a light, quick /r/ before /siː/ and hold the final /iː/ to a full length. Practice with minimal pairs like address/addressee to reinforce the suffix pronunciation and ensure the final vowel remains a long E.
US/UK/AU share /ˌæd.rɪˈsiː/ with the primary stress on the second syllable and a long /iː/ at the end, but vowel qualities vary slightly: US tends to release the /æ/ more openly and may have a slightly rhotic coloring in the /r/; UK may have crisper consonants, with a less pronounced rhoticity for some speakers; AU generally aligns with non-rhotic tendencies in some regions, producing a softer /r/ after vowels. In practice, the first two syllables may be clipped more in rapid speech in all three, but the second syllable remains the main beat.
The difficulty lies in the three-syllable rhythm and the sequence of light syllables plus a long final vowel: ad-REES-ee. The middle syllable houses a reduced vowel before the stressed /siː/, which beginners often mispronounce as /ər/ or /riː/. Also, the trailing long /iː/ requires keeping the mouth in a high-front position without letting it slide into a diphthong. Focusing on three distinct vowel targets and maintaining the middle syllable’s reduced vowel helps avoid common substitutes.
No, addressee does not contain silent letters in standard pronunciation. Each of the three syllables is pronounced: /æd/ /rɪ/ /siː/. Some speakers may gloss over the /r/ in non-rhotic accents when the preceding vowel is unstressed, but this does not create a true silent letter. The primary challenge is keeping the middle vowel light and the final /siː/ long and distinct.
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- US: maintain a rhotic r and a slightly longer second vowel; /æ/ is open, /rɪ/ uses a quick, lax /ɹ/; final /siː/ is long, with a light touch on the tongue. - UK: crisper consonants; non-rhotic: /ˌæd.rɪˈsiː/ but the /r/ is often less pronounced; keep the final /iː/ precise. - AU: similar to UK in non-rhotic tendencies; keep the vowels clear and avoid over-articulation of the /r/; ensure the middle vowel remains short. IPA guidance remains /ˌæd.rɪˈsiː/ across accents; you may hear subtle vowel height differences and intonation contours.
Addressee comes from the verb phrase address, with the agentive suffix -ee which denotes the person who is the recipient of an action. The base address originates from Old French adresser and Latin ad- “toward” + dire “to speak/arrange” in medieval times, evolving from literal “to direct” or “to send toward” in medieval correspondence. The form addressee, attested in print by the 17th century, follows the same pattern as other agent-noun formations such as addressee and addressee. The word’s semantic core expanded from the act of addressing to identify the target person who is intended to receive something—mail, a document, or communication—becoming a standard term in postal, legal, and business language. In modern usage, addressee often appears in legal templates, logistics forms, and formal notices, with the exact legal implication that the addressee is the designated recipient capable of receiving and acting upon the item or message in question.
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Words that rhyme with "addressee"
--ee sounds
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