Assignments refers to tasks or duties assigned to someone to complete, often in an academic or workplace setting. The word can also denote the act of distributing responsibilities. In usage, it typically appears as a plural noun, referring to multiple tasks, though it can be used in singular form in some contexts (e.g., “an assignment”). Its stress is on the second syllable: a-SSIGN-ments.
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"- Students handed in their assignments before the deadline."
"- The company distributed new client assignments after the meeting."
"- She keeps her assignments organized in a single folder."
"- The professor reviewed each student’s assignments for accuracy."
Assignments traces to the Middle French assigner meaning to designate or appoint, which in turn derives from the Latin assignare (ad + signare) meaning to mark or designate. The term entered English via legal and scholastic use in the late medieval period, where “assignment” referred to the act of designating something for a person’s use or a job to be performed. Over time, the word broadened to mean any task or paper given to a student or employee. The plural form “assignments” naturally arose to denote multiple designated tasks. In modern English, “assignment” often implies a formal task with expectations, deadlines, and evaluation criteria, commonly used in educational and professional contexts. The etymology highlights the root sense of marking or designating a responsibility, which preserves in the contemporary sense of “an assigned task.”
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "assignments" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "assignments" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "assignments"
-nts sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Say a-SIGN-muhnts with the primary stress on the second syllable: /əˈsaɪn.mənts/. Start with a weak initial /ə/ (uh), then the stressed /ˈsaɪn/ as in sign, followed by the schwa /ə/ in -ments and end with /nts/. Your mouth should widen for /aɪ/ (like
Common errors include misplacing the stress on the first syllable (a-SIGN-ments instead of /əˈsaɪn.mənts/) and softening the /n/ or misproducing the final /nts/ cluster. Another frequent issue is reducing the /aɪ/ to a short /i/ sound. To correct: keep the primary stress on the second syllable, ensure the /aɪ/ is the strong diphthong (start with /ə/ then glide to /aɪ/), and seal the final /t/ with a light release into /nts/.
In US/UK/AU, the primary stress remains on the second syllable /əˈsaɪn.mənts/; differences lie in vowel quality. US rhotics may show a more pronounced /ɝ/ in related words, but 'assignments' keeps /əˈsaɪn.mənts/ with slightly more centralized vowels in quick speech. UK pronunciation tends to be slightly crisper with non-rhotic tendencies; AU follows similar patterns to UK but with subtle Australian vowel shifts. Overall, the core stress and phonemes remain constant across these varieties.
The difficulty centers on the /aɪ/ diphthong in the stressed syllable and the final /nts/ cluster, which can blur in fast speech. Non-native speakers often misplace the stress or reduce /aɪ/ to /iː/ or /ʌ/. Also, the transition from /n/ to /m/ in the syllable boundary can be tricky. Practice the sequence /əˈsaɪn.mənts/ slowly, then increase speed while maintaining clear articulation of /aɪ/ and the final /nts/.
A distinctive feature is the clear secondary boundary before the final /nts/, creating a clipped ending. The middle /ɪ/ in 'assign' isn’t pronounced here as a full /ɪ/; instead the syllable centers around /aɪ/ for the stressed syllable, with the final /nts/ delivered as a crisp voiceless-tss sequence. This pattern helps differentiate from similar words like 'assignment' and 'assignments' in connected speech.
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