2 syllables: a, mused. Stress on mused.
uh-MYOOZD
/əˈmjuzd/
amused is pronounced uh-MYOOZD (/əˈmjuzd/). It has two syllables (a-mused), with the stress on "mused". Amused is an adjective meaning showing that you find something funny or entertaining. It describes a light, pleasant reaction rather than loud laughter, often with a soft smile or slight head tilt. The pronunciation centers on a clear, short /æ/ or /ə/ vowel in the first syllable and a light, unstressed final /st/ or /zd/ depending on dialect, giving a concise, clipped finish.
Amused is an adjective meaning showing that you find something funny or entertaining. It describes a light, pleasant reaction rather than loud laughter, often with a soft smile or slight head tilt. The pronunciation centers on a clear, short /æ/ or /ə/ vowel in the first syllable and a light, unstressed final /st/ or /zd/ depending on dialect, giving a concise, clipped finish.
- You may over-articulate the final /d/ turning it into a hard stop. Keep it light and almost unvoiced before a following consonant or pause. - Another common issue is inaccurate /juː/ articulation, treating it as /uː/ or separating it from /m/. Practice the glide as a quick transition from /m/ into the tongue-highial /juː/. - Some speakers reduce the initial schwa too aggressively (saying am-ˈjuːzd with a clipped beginning). Maintain a light but audible first syllable without swallowing it. - Stress misplacement or weak secondary stress can make the word sound like /ˈæmjuːzd/ in some dialects. Aim for clear /əˈmjuːzd/ and a steady rhythm.
"She looked amused by the storyteller’s antics."
"The audience was amused, laughing softly at the witty remark."
"He wore an amused smile as the dog performed a goofy trick."
amused is pronounced with three phonemes: /ə/ (schwa) as the unstressed first vowel, /ˈmjuː/ as the stressed second syllable with a long 'u' sound, and /zd/ ending. IPA: US /əˈmjuːzd/, UK /əˈmjuːzd/, AU /əˈmjuːzd/. To prepare mouth position: start with a relaxed jaw, produce a short schwa, then form a bright /m/ with closed lips, glide into /juː/ with the tongue high near the palate, and finish with a light /z/ or /d/ release. A stable final consonant is often a lenient /d/.”,
Common mistakes include misplacing stress (saying uh-MUSED with wrong stress), mispronouncing /juː/ as a dull /u/ or a separate syllable, and ending with a hard /t/ instead of the softer /zd/ or /d/. To correct: keep the stress on the second syllable: /əˈmjuːzd/; blend the /m/ and /juː/ tightly, almost as one syllable; ensure the final is a light /zd/ or a quick /zd/ with reduced voicing, rather than a crisp /t/.”,
In US and UK, the primary stress remains on the second syllable, with an /juː/ glide following /m/, creating /əˈmjuːzd/. In many American dialects, the /juː/ can be reduced toward /u/ in casual speech, producing /əˈmuːzd/. Australian speakers often maintain a clearer /juː/ but may shorten the preceding schwa slightly and exhibit a less rhotic influence on surrounding vowels, keeping the final consonant a light /d/ or /zd/. Overall, the core is the same: /əˈmjuːzd/ with subtle vowel quality shifts.
The difficulty lies in the contrast between the unstressed initial schwa and the strong, rounded /juː/ glide that links to the stressed syllable, plus the final voiced alveolar stop sequences /zd/ or /d/ that are lightly released. Learners often misproduce /mjuː/ as /mju/ or separate the /juː/ from /m/, and may overemphasize the final /d/ making it sound like /t/ or /z/. Mastery comes from practicing the smooth /ənjuːzd/ blend and keeping the final sound soft.
A distinctive feature is the strong /m/ followed by the /juː/ glide, producing the cluster /mjuː/ that can be tricky to connect without an intrusive vowel. You should avoid breaking the sequence with an extra vowel and aim for a tight transition from /m/ to /juː/ into /zd/. The result is a smooth, tight syllable pair (ə-ˈmjuːzd) that sits between a gentle schwa and a clear, voiced end.
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- US: Rhotic? No effect on /ə/ or /mjuː/ but you’ll often hear a bright, clipped /z/ at the end; keep the /d/ soft. - UK: Slightly longer vowel quality in /juː/ and crisper /d/ in some accents; ensure non-rhoticity doesn’t affect the final /zd/. - AU: More vowel reduction in fast speech; keep /juː/ intact and avoid tensing the last consonant. Reference IPA: US /əˈmjuːzd/, UK /əˈmjuːzd/, AU /əˈmjuːzd/. - Common to all: keep the second syllable stressed, practice linking onto following words for smooth speech.
Amused traces to the Old French amuser meaning to divert or mislead, and to the Latin verb amusare meaning to divert or entertain. The term entered English via Middle English in the sense of causing amusement or entertained feelings through wit or humor. The evolution of meaning moved from “to cause to be amused” toward describing a person’s reaction: feeling amused or being in a state of entertainment. By the 16th century, “amused” described a person’s disposition, not just the act of amusing someone else. In modern English, it conveys a subtle enjoyment rather than overt laughter, often maintaining a nuance of polite or quiet amusement seen in social or formal contexts. First known uses appear in translated or adapted texts where humor and pleasing sensations were described in relation to events or performances. The shift from a verb-based sense (to amuse) to an adjective (amused) parallels other participial adjectives in English that describe current states rather than actions. Overall, it sits at the intersection of emotion and social signaling, indicating a moderated, agreeable reaction to stimuli rather than intense mirth.
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Words that rhyme with "amused"
-sed sounds
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