Appointees are individuals officially chosen or designated to fill a position, typically for a fixed term or until a successor is chosen. The term emphasizes the act of appointing and the people who have been appointed, rather than the act itself. In formal contexts, it often appears in government or organizational announcements and policy discussions about appointments and successors.
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- You might misplace stress to the first syllable: ensure primary stress on the second syllable: ə-POYN-teez. - Mispronounce /ɔɪ/ as a pure /ɔ/ or /oʊ/; keep the diphthong tight and rising: /ɔɪ/ sequence. - Don’t slur the sequence /n-tiː/; keep /n/ clearly released before /tiːz/. - Final /z/ should be voiced, not devoiced; avoid ending with /s/.- To fix: practice with minimal pairs (appoint vs appointee vs appointees), exaggerate the diphthong in practice, and record yourself to monitor the /tiːz/ ending.
- US: /əˈpɔɪnˌtiːz/ with a rhotic absence in non-rhotic contexts; UK: /əˈpɔɪn.tiːz/ - slight syllable-linking; AU: /əˈpɔɪnˌtiːz/ often with broader vowel quality and less vowel reduction. - Vowel focus: sharpen /ɔɪ/ as a tight diphthong, avoid a centralized /ɐɪ/. - Final /tiːz/ should be crisp; ensure voicing in /z/ is maintained even in faster speech.
"The appointees will be sworn in after the confirmation hearing."
"Several appointees from diverse backgrounds were announced by the president."
"Her remarks praised the appointees for their commitment to public service."
"Questions arose about the qualifications of the appointees as the administration faced scrutiny."
Appointee comes from the past participle of appoint, from Old French appointer, late Latin appunctare; in English, appoint (1350s) meant to designate, order, or arrange. The suffix -ee denotes a person who receives an action or is the beneficiary, borrowed from Norman French and Old English, as in employee or attendee. Historically, the term evolved in 17th–18th century bureaucratic usage to refer specifically to individuals named or designated to fill offices. The modern sense—emphasizing the person who has been designated to a role—arose as organizational and governmental structures formalized appointments and confirmations. First known uses appear in official records and parliamentary language from the 1600s onward, with the plural appointees common in 19th–20th century governance discourse as appointing bodies named multiple individuals for boards and posts.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "appointees" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "appointees" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "appointees"
-ies sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as ə-POYN-teez, with primary stress on the second syllable: /əˈpɔɪnˌtiːz/ (US) or /əˈpɔɪnˌtiːz/; the final -ees sounds like /tiːz/. Start with a schwa, glide into a strong /ɔɪ/ diphthong, then a clear /tiːz/ ending. Mouth: lips neutral, tongue high-mid for /ɔɪ/, tip of tongue to ridge for /n/, trailing /z/ at the end. Audio reference: imagine saying “appoint” then add “ees” softly.”,
Common errors: misplacing stress as on the first syllable or elongating the final syllable. Another frequent mistake is turning /ɔɪ/ into a pure /o/ or /ɪ/ sound. Correction: stress the second syllable (/ˈpɔɪn/?), ensure the vowel in /ɔɪ/ is a true diphthong and keep the final /tiːz/ crisp. Practice with contrastive pairs: appoint vs appointee vs appointees to feel the shift.
US: /əˈpɔɪnˌtiːz/ with rhotic r absence in the middle is not relevant; UK: /əˈpɔɪn.tiːz/ with slight syllable-linking; AU: /əˈpɔɪnˌtiːz/ similar to US but with more vowel quality shift in some regions. The main difference is the vowel quality of /ɔɪ/ and the final syllable duration; rhotics are less pronounced in non-rhotic variants, affecting the preceding vowels and linking between syllables.
Because of the three-syllable structure with a rising diphthong in the second syllable and a crisp, voiceless final /z/ voice into /z/. The transition from /ɔɪ/ to /n/ to /tiːz/ requires precise tongue positioning: raise the back of the tongue for /ɔɪ/ while maintaining /n/ without intrusion; end with a clear /tiːz/ that doesn’t devoice. The cluster after the diphthong is a bit tight, which can lead to elision in fast speech.
Yes: the sequence /əˈpɔɪnˌtiːz/ features a stress pattern that locks onto the second syllable, followed by a light, high-front vowel in the final '-ees'. The challenge is ensuring the diphthong /ɔɪ/ stays intact while not merging /n/ with the following /tiːz/. Keeping a short pause before the final syllable in careful speech helps clarity.
🗣️ Voice search tip: These questions are optimized for voice search. Try asking your voice assistant any of these questions about "appointees"!
- Shadowing: listen to native speakers say appointees and repeat in real time, matching tempo, rhythm, and intonation. - Minimal pairs: appointment, appointee, appoint, appointees to feel stress and syllable differences. - Rhythm: stress-timed word with a light secondary stress on the verb endpoints in connected speech; practice 60–120 BPM with a metronome. - Stress practice: place emphatic stress on the second syllable; practice with sentences where appointees is emphasized. - Recording: record yourself reading headlines, press releases, and policy briefs. - Context drills: “the appointees in the cabinet meeting” vs “the appoint...ees” to feel natural phrasing.
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