5 syllables: An, nih, i, la, tion. Stress on la.
uh-neye-uh-LAY-shuhn
/əˌnaɪəˈleɪʃən/
Annihilation is pronounced uh-neye-uh-LAY-shuhn (/əˌnaɪəˈleɪʃən/). It has five syllables (An-nih-i-la-tion), with the stress on "la". Annihilation is the act or process of completely destroying something, often with overwhelming force or complete obliteration. It is used to describe total defeat, destruction of particles or systems, or the erasure of opposition, events, or structures. In science and literature, it can imply absolute nullification or disappearance of existence or function.
nounAnnihilation is the act or process of completely destroying something, often with overwhelming force or complete obliteration. It is used to describe total defeat, destruction of particles or systems, or the erasure of opposition, events, or structures. In science and literature, it can imply absolute nullification or disappearance of existence or function.
- You fail to hold the /eɪ/ in the stressed -lay- syllable; you say 'annihili-ation' with confusion; fix by isolating the /leɪ/ segment and then gliding into /ʃən/. - You compress the two initial vowels, producing /ˈænaɪhɪleɪʃən/ or misplacing the stress; practice the three-part break: a-NIH-i-LAY-shən. - You drop the final /ʃən/; instead you may say /ən/ or /n/. Focus on the soft, palatal /ʃ/ and add a light schwa before it. - Practice with minimal pairs to fix the /ɪ/ vs /ɪə/ transition and ensure the /n/ before /ˈleɪ/ is clearly articulated. - In rapid speech, linking may yield a reduced /i/ or cluster; maintain crisp /ɪ/ in /ɪʃ/ to preserve clarity.
How to Pronounce Annihilation
"The storm brought annihilation to the coastal town, leaving little more than ruins in its wake."
"The researchers warned that the viral outbreak could lead to the annihilation of endangered species in the habitat."
"The new policy aims to annihilate i fraud and improve transparency in government budgeting."
Pronounce as /əˌnaɪ.ɪˈleɪ.ʃən/. The primary stress sits on the third syllable: nih-ih-LAY-shun. Start with a schwa in the first syllable, follow with a short /aɪ/ in the second, then a bright /eɪ/ on the stressed third syllable, ending with /ʃən/. Think: uh-NY-uh-LAY-shun. Listening reference: think of ‘in-yeh-lay-shun’ in rapid speech; audition for the long /eɪ/ on lay.
Common errors: (1) misplacing the stress, sounding like a-NAI-uh-LAY-shun or a-nai-ill-LAY-shun; (2) conflating the /æ/ or /ɑ/ sounds in the first syllables with a stretched /æ/ or /ə/; (3) dropping the final -tion to -tion with reduced vowel. Correction: practice the three-part rhythm a-NIH-i-LAY-shən, keeping the long -lay- vowel and ensuring final /ʃən/ rather than /n/ or /ən/ alone. Use slow repeats and record to compare with a model pronunciation.
US: /əˌnaɪ.ɪˈleɪ.ʃən/ with rhoticity; UK: /əˌnaɪ.ɪˈleɪ.ʃən/ non-rhotic? in careful speech may sound similar but with less r-colored vowels; AU: /əˌnaɪ.ɪˈleɪ.ʃən/; vowels remain similar, but connected speech may reduce second syllable vowels. The crucial difference is vowel length and r-coloring; Americans may pronounce a slightly stronger /ɹ/ in connected speech and maintain a clearer /ɪ/ in the second syllable; UK often has crisper consonants and less vowel reduction in rapid speech.
Key challenges: the sequence /ˌnaɪ.ɪ/ splits into two nearly adjacent vowel sounds; the mid- or long diphthong /eɪ/ in -lay- is stressed and carries length; the final -tion forms /ʃən/ which may be elided in fast speech; the combination can cause syllable-timing issues. Also, the consonant cluster at the boundary between /nɪ/ and /leɪ/ can tempt to merge; practice separating the diphthongs and final /ʃən/ for clarity.
The word uniquely features a three-part syllable rhythm (a-NIH-i- lay- tion) and a stress shift to the penultimate accented syllable; the /ˈleɪ/ diphthong stands out as a long, bright vowel that anchors the word’s loudest syllable. Ensure the /ʃ/ onset of the final syllable is not slurred into the preceding /n/. The combination of /ˌnaɪ/ and /ˈleɪ/ requires precise articulation to avoid sounding like ‘annihil-ation’ with subdued lay.
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- US: rhotic; keep the /ɹ/ in connected speech; ensure the /æ/ in the first syllable doesn’t slip into a schwa; use /əˌnaɪ.ɪˈleɪ.ʃən/ with a slightly stronger /ɪ/ in the second syllable if necessary. - UK: often less rhotic; keep the /ˈleɪ/ strong with a clear /eɪ/; pay attention to non-rhoticity in careful speech so the final /ən/ is lightly pronounced. - AU: tends toward broader vowels; maintain /ˌnaɪ.ɪˈleɪ.ʃən/ with less vowel reduction in casual speech; keep the /ʃ/ distinct and avoid vowel mergers across syllables. - In all accents, the key is preserving the third syllable stress on lay and the final /ʃən/ rather than a collapsed /ən/.
Annihilation derives from the Latin annihilare, from ad- ‘to, toward’ + nihilus ‘nothing, nothingness’ (from nihil ‘nothing’). The root nihil traces to Proto-Indo-European *ne-/*ne-syo, signifying negation or absence. The Latin form annihilare (= ‘to reduce to nothing’) entered English via Middle French annihilier during the 15th–16th centuries, subsequently appearing in English legal and literary usage. Early senses emphasized “abolition of existence” or “rendering trivial.” By the 19th century, in scientific and military contexts, annihilation commonly described total destruction or erasure of matter, energy, or civilizations, often emphasizing absolute negation. The word’s morphology—prefix a- (to) + nihil (nothing) + -ation (noun-forming suffix)—highlights its core semantic cue: turning something into nothingness. In contemporary usage, it spans everyday expressions of catastrophic damage to specialized terms in physics and fiction, retaining its emphasis on total negation and complete destruction.
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Words that rhyme with "Annihilation"
-ion sounds
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