3 syllables: Al, co, hol. Stress on Al.
AL-kuh-hahl
/ˈælkəˌhɑl/
Alcohol is pronounced AL-kuh-hahl (/ˈælkəˌhɑl/). It has three syllables (Al-co-hol), with the stress on "Al". Alcohol is a liquid substance produced by fermentation, used as a beverage and, in concentrated form, as a solvent or as fuel. In everyday use, it refers to the intoxicating beverage containing ethanol. The term also covers chemical compounds with hydroxyl groups in their structure. It is a common noun with multiple specialized contexts across science, industry, and culture.
nounAlcohol is a liquid substance produced by fermentation, used as a beverage and, in concentrated form, as a solvent or as fuel. In everyday use, it refers to the intoxicating beverage containing ethanol. The term also covers chemical compounds with hydroxyl groups in their structure. It is a common noun with multiple specialized contexts across science, industry, and culture.
How to Pronounce Alcohol
"The bar offers a wide selection of wines and spirits, including a few imported hard liquors with higher alcohol content."
"In moderation, alcohol is enjoyed socially, but excessive consumption can lead to health problems."
"The lab sample contained a small amount of ethanol, so we stored it in a sealed, labeled bottle."
Pronounced AL-kuh-hol, stress on the first syllable. IPA US: /ˈæl.kəˌhɔl/; UK: /ˈæl.kəˌhɔːl/; AU: /ˈæl.kəˌhɔːl/. Start with the open front short A, then a quick schwa and a dark L ending. The second syllable is a light 'kuh' and the final 'hol' is a long o-l sound. Keep the 'l' sounds clear but not overly released.
Common errors: turning the second syllable into a heavy 'kuh-l' instead of a softer 'kə-h', and misplacing stress leading to AL-COH-l or al-KO-l distortions. Correct by maintaining primary stress on the first syllable and reducing vowel reduction in the middle syllable to /kə/; ensure the final /ɔl/ has a back rounded vowel quality rather than a tense /oʊ/ sound in some dialects.
US tends to have a stable /ˈæl.kəˌhɔl/ with a shorter /ɔ/; UK often has a lengthened /ɔː/ in the final syllable. Australian English tends toward vowel lowering in the final /ɔː/ and a slightly more centralized middle vowel. The rhoticity note: US and AU are rhotic, UK is non-rhotic in many dialects but some regions may pronounce /r/ in careful speech. Overall, the main difference is the final vowel length and quality: /ɔl/ vs /ɔːl/.
Difficult due to the sequence /ˈæl.kə/ followed by /hɔl/, where the /h/ is light and the final /ɔl/ can shift toward /oʊ/ or /ɔː/ depending on dialect. The middle /k/ followed by the voiced/voiceless distinction in /lə/ can cause vowel length and vowel harmony errors. You must coordinate two rhotics-less and rhotic contexts, keep the mid vowel stable, and avoid introducing an extra syllable or a silent 'l' confusion.
Yes— the retention of a distinct /ə/ in the second syllable after the stressed first syllable, producing 'AL-kə-hol' instead of 'AL-koh-l' or 'Al-ko-l'. The middle vowel /ə/ is a schwa; ensure it's short and unstressed, not reduced to a full vowel. The final /ɔl/ should be rounded and clear, with no 'uh-l'ization into /əl/. Mastery involves keeping a crisp three-syllable rhythm: strong-weak-strong.
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US: rhotic, /r/ not present after vowels; UK: often non-rhotic, careful with /ɒ/ vs /ɔː/; AU: rhotic but vowel quality shifts toward centralized /ɔː/. Vowel/Consonant Details: focus on front low /æ/ initial; Schwa /ə/ middle; final /hɔl/ with rounded lips. IPA references: US /ˈæl.kəˌhɔl/, UK /ˈæl.kəˌhɔːl/, AU /ˈæl.kəˌhɔːl/.-
Alcohol derives from the Arabic al-kuḥl via the Latin alcohol and the older Middle Latin alcohol, which entered European languages through alchemical and pharmaceutical texts. The root kuḥl originally referred to a fine powder or eyeliner and developed into a general term for purified substances. In early chemistry, “alcohol” described any evaporated substance that could be distilled, but by the 18th and 19th centuries, it was fixed to denote ethanol, the type found in beverages. The modern chemical sense—an organic compound bearing a hydroxyl group (–OH)—emerged from 19th-century chemical nomenclature and categorization as organic compounds were better understood. The word’s usage broadened to include solvents and industrial applications, while the beverage sense remained dominant in everyday speech. First known use as a chemical term dates to Latin texts in the 16th century, with pharmacological usage appearing in multilingual European dictionaries by the 17th century, and consumer beverage usage solidifying in the 18th and 19th centuries as distillation and fermentation technologies advanced.
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Words that rhyme with "Alcohol"
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