Anguish refers to intense, typically prolonged pain or suffering, whether physical or emotional. It conveys a deep, piercing sense of distress that can overwhelm a person’s capacity to think or act. The term often implies a blend of sorrow, torment, and helplessness, arising from loss, injury, or extreme hardship.
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- Over-reducing the /æ/ to a neutral vowel and losing the nasality of /ŋ/, which makes anguish sound like ‘angle-wish’ instead of ‘ang-wish’. Remedy: exaggerate /æ/ while keeping tongue low and front. - Softening or skipping the /ɡ/ in the middle, turning anguish into /ˈæŋwɪʃ/; focus on a clean /ŋɡ/ release before the /w/. - Not pronouncing the final /ʃ/ clearly; in careful speech the ending sounds like ‘sh’ with a light friction; keep your lips relaxed but not rounded. - Slurring the /w/ into /ɪ/; practice linking /ɡw/ as a single transition rather than two separate steps. - Tensing the jaw unnecessarily, which distorts the /æ/ and makes timing off between syllables. Correction tips: isolate /æŋ/ then add a crisp /ɡ/ with a brief /w/ motion, then finish /ɪʃ/. Practice with slow drills before normal speed.
- US: maintain rhotic-agnostic approach to /r/ not present; focus on fronted /æ/ with a strong nasal /ŋ/ and a clear /ɡ/ release. - UK: slightly tenser /æ/ and longer /ɡ/ closure before /w/, keep /ɪ/ a compact vowel; avoid overt rounding of lips. - AU: broader vowel space, keep /æ/ slightly higher, and ensure the /ɪ/ doesn’t become a reduced schwa; keep the /ʃ/ clean and forward in the mouth. IPA: /ˈæŋɡwɪʃ/ across accents; note minor vowel shifts and timing between /ŋ/ and /ɡ/.
"The cry of anguish echoed through the empty hall after the accident."
"She spoke with such anguish that I could barely stand to listen."
"His letter was filled with anguish over the severed bond with his sister."
"The abandoned child’s voice carried a note of anguish that lingered in the room."
Anguish comes from Middle English angust (
💡 Etymology tip: Understanding word origins can help you remember pronunciation patterns and recognize related words in the same language family.
Help others use "anguish" correctly by contributing grammar tips, common mistakes, and context guidance.
💡 These words have similar meanings to "anguish" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "anguish" and show contrast in usage.
📚 Vocabulary tip: Learning synonyms and antonyms helps you understand nuanced differences in meaning and improves your word choice in speaking and writing.
Words that rhyme with "anguish"
-ish sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
🎵 Rhyme tip: Practicing with rhyming words helps you master similar sound patterns and improves your overall pronunciation accuracy.
You pronounce anguish as /ˈæŋɡwɪʃ/ in US/UK/AU. The primary stress is on the first syllable: ANG-… then -wish with a short i. The /æ/ vowel is near the 'bad' vowel; the /ŋ/ is the velar nasal as in 'sing'; the /ɡ/ is a hard g as in 'go'; the /w/ is the 'w' glide before /ɪ/. Tip: start with a crisp /æ/ then immediately pull the tongue back for /ŋ/ and release into /ɡwɪʃ/. Audio references: you can compare with Cambridge/ODS pronunciations or Forvo samples.”,
Common mistakes include softening the /ɡ/ into a /d/ or /j/, and misplacing the /w/ so it becomes an afterthought rather than a linker between /ŋ/ and /ɪ/. Another error is reducing /æ/ to a schwa in fast speech, or dropping the final /ʃ/ sound, saying /ˈæŋɡwɪ/ instead of /ˈæŋɡwɪʃ/. To correct: keep the /ɡ/ strong, maintain a crisp /w/ transition, and finish with /ʃ/ as in 'sheesh' without turning it into /ʃə/. Practice with minimal pairs to lock the final consonant.”,
In US and UK, the initial /æ/ remains similar, but rhoticity plays less of a role for anguish since it ends with /ʃ/. The UK often preserves a slightly tenser /æ/ and a more noticeable /ŋ/ duration; US speakers may have a slightly shorter /æ/ before /ŋ/ and a quicker transition into /ɡw/; Australian speakers typically exhibit a broader vowel space, with a more centralized /æ/ and a softer /ɪ/ in /ɪʃ/. Cross-dialect listeners should hear /ˈæŋɡwɪʃ/ with comparable stress on the first syllable. IPA guides can help verify subtle differences.
Anguish presents two main challenges: a crisp, clustered /ŋɡw/ sequence that blends nasal, velar stop, and bilabial glide, and the final /ʃ/ that must stay strong after /ɪ/. The /æ/ before nasal must remain tense to avoid a sleepy or reduced vowel; the /ɡ/ should be released clearly rather than absorbed into /w/. Practice slow, segmented articulation: /æŋ/ + /ɡwɪ/ + /ʃ/, then blend. Using minimal pairs helps you reinforce the transition from nasal + stop to glide + vowel + fricative.
A distinctive feature is the strong, short /æ/ before the velar nasal /ŋ/ and the sudden /ɡ/ release followed by the /w/ glide into /ɪ/. It’s easy to swallow the /ɡw/ cluster in fast speech, so you’ll benefit from practicing the sequence as a single unit: /æŋɡwɪ/ before finishing with /ʃ/. Recording yourself helps you confirm you’re not dropping the /g/ or muting the /w/.
🗣️ Voice search tip: These questions are optimized for voice search. Try asking your voice assistant any of these questions about "anguish"!
- Shadowing: listen to a native speaker saying anguish in a short clip and imitate in real time, maintaining the /æŋɡwɪʃ/ sequence. - Minimal pairs: ang-wish contrasts with bang-wish, rang-wish, etc., to lock the /æ/ and /ŋ/; practice constant rate. - Rhythm: practice a 4-beat rhythm: /æŋ/ (beat 1) /ɡwɪ/ (beat 3) /ʃ/ (beat 4); ensure even timing. - Stress: primary stress on the first syllable; try to keep intensity high at /æ/ but relaxed at /ʃ/. - Recording: use your phone to capture and compare with a reference; adjust if the /æ/ relaxes too much or the /ʃ/ loses strength. - Context sentences: “The anguish in her voice was unmistakable.” “He spoke of the anguish of losing a friend.”
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