2 syllables: Ad, ult. Stress on ult.
uh-DUHLT
/əˈdʌlt/
Adult is pronounced uh-DUHLT (/əˈdʌlt/). It has two syllables (Ad-ult), with the stress on "ult". Adult (noun): a fully developed, mature person; legally recognized as an grown-up. In everyday use, it denotes someone who has reached maturity, typically 18 or older, capable of independent decision-making, responsibilities, or authority. The term appears in contexts ranging from biology to law and social roles, often contrasted with children or minors.
nounAdult (noun): a fully developed, mature person; legally recognized as an grown-up. In everyday use, it denotes someone who has reached maturity, typically 18 or older, capable of independent decision-making, responsibilities, or authority. The term appears in contexts ranging from biology to law and social roles, often contrasted with children or minors.
- You might mispronounce the vowel in the first syllable, pronouncing it as /æ/ in all contexts; practice with a relaxed /ə/ or /æ/ depending on dialect and ensure the second syllable carries clear /ʌlt/ or /əlt/ depending on the variant. - Another common error is blending /d/ and /l/ into a single soft sound; drill with minimal pairs and emphasize a hard /d/ release before the /l/ following. - Stress misplacement: many learners stress the first syllable (/ˈæd.ʌlt/) in US; you should anchor the primary stress on the second syllable in US /əˈdʌlt/ and UK /ˈæd.ʌlt/ depending on the region; practice with sentence frames to fix stress. - Tip: slow down the transition from /d/ to /l/ by saying “duh-lt” slowly, then add speed gradually while maintaining the crisp consonants.
How to Pronounce Adult
"When you turn 18, you’re legally an adult in many countries."
"The club requires adults to sign the waiver."
"Adult supervision was needed for the kids’ activity."
US: /əˈdʌlt/ with a schwa in the first syllable, stress on the second syllable; UK: /ˈæd.ʌlt/ with a more open short-a and secondary reduction of the first syllable, AU: /ˈæd.əlt/ or /ˈæd.əl/ depending on speaker; mouth: start with a relaxed schwa or short /æ/, then a stressed /dʌlt/; practice by saying ‘uh-dult’ while gently tightening the tongue to hit /d/ and /l/ clearly. Audio examples: refer to Cambridge Dictionary and YouGlish for native pronunciations.
Common errors: 1) Misplacing stress, saying /ˈæd.ʌlt/ with primary stress on the first syllable; fix by practicing the second-syllable stress with a quick lift of the vowel. 2) Vowel mismatch in US: mispronouncing the first syllable as /æ/ in all contexts; practice with a lighter, unstressed /ə/ or /ʌ/ in the first syllable. 3) Blurring /d/ and /l/ into a single sound; separate them with a clean tongue touch for /d/ and a clear alveolar lateral for /l/.
In US English, you’ll hear /əˈdʌlt/ with a schwa and rhotic r absence. In many UK varieties, /ˈæd.ʌlt/ with a short /æ/ vowel and non-rhoticity; Australia often lands somewhere between US and UK, commonly /ˈæd.əlt/ or /ˈæd.əlt/, with reduced second syllable and lighter /r/ absence. Focus on the first vowel: US tends to a central schwa in connected speech, UK favors a pure short-a, and AU often shows a more centralized or reduced second syllable in casual speech.
Primary challenges: maintaining the second-syllable stress with a short, clipped vowel; producing a clear /d/ followed by /l/ without an intrusive vowel; and managing the rapid transition between /d/ and /l/ in fluent speech. Also, context and article linking can alter onset emphasis ('an adult' vs 'a adult'). IPA guidance: US /əˈdʌlt/, UK /ˈæd.ʌlt/ provide an anchor to align tongue position and avoid vowel reduction in high-speed speech.
There are no silent letters in standard pronunciations; however, in connected speech the 'd' and 'l' can merge subtly as a rapid /dəl/ sequence, and the first syllable may be reduced toward a schwa in casual speech. The key is to strike a crisp /d/ followed quickly by /l/ without an extra vowel; record and compare with native samples to ensure you’re not eliding the /d/ or turning /l/ into a vowel-like sound.
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- US: Rely on a rhotic-less ending; ensure unstressed syllables are shortened, keep a schwa-like first syllable, and articulate /d/ with a strong, brief stop before /l/. - UK: Use a purer short /æ/ or /a/ in some dialects, with a more open vowel in the first syllable; avoid over-reducing /æ/ to a schwa. - AU: Tends to blend the second syllable slightly more; keep the /l/ clear and allow a tiny vowel in the second syllable, around /ə/ or /ɪ/; watch for a light onset in casual speech. IPA anchors: US /əˈdʌlt/, UK /ˈæd.ʌlt/, AU /ˈæd.əlt/.
The word adult comes from the Middle English adulte, borrowed from Old French adulte, and ultimately from Latin adultus, meaning ‘grown,’ ‘full-grown.’ The Latin term is formed from the prefix ad- ‘toward’ plus old suffixed form auctus ‘grown,’ from augere ‘to increase.’ In medieval and early modern English, adult referred primarily to the moral or physical prime, often in contrast to youth. By the 15th–16th centuries, usage broadened: adult as a noun for a mature person, and as an adjective meaning ‘fully developed.’ The simplification to a standalone noun in common usage became widespread in the 19th and 20th centuries, paralleling shifts in social concepts of age, legality, and responsibility. First known use as a noun in English can be traced to late 14th century texts, where adult described persons who had reached full age or status; by the 16th century it more clearly signified full maturity rather than mere age. Today, adult is ubiquitous in legal, medical, educational, and sociocultural contexts, often paired with qualifiers like “adult literacy,” “adult supervision,” or “adult education.”
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Words that rhyme with "Adult"
-irt sounds
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