Attentions is the plural noun form of attention, referring to acts or instances of giving heed or focusing awareness. It can also describe items or points that require consideration or notice. In professional contexts, “attentions” often appears in phrases like “customer attentions” or “attention-of the audience,” signaling multiple focal points or directives demanding awareness.
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- You might tilt toward saying a-TEN-tions with the /t/ replaced by a softer /d/ or a flap /ɾ/ in casual speech; keep the alveolar stop /t/ clear in the second syllable. - Avoid merging /tɛn/ and /ʃən/ into a single sound; maintain the separation between the syllables so listeners hear the /t/ and the /ʃ/ distinctly. - Don’t drop the final /z/; ensure voicing breath and a clear end sound to avoid trailing off. Practice with slow drills to fix the rhythm around the stressed syllable.
- US: emphasize rhotic clarity in connected speech; ensure /ˈtɛn/ stands out as the nucleus and the /z/ remains a voiced ending without extra vowel. - UK: keep /t/ as a crisp alveolar stop, possibly with slightly stronger dental air, and ensure /ˈtɛn/ is clearly heard; the final /z/ should be voiced but not elongated. - AU: often a more clipped overall pace; maintain the middle stress on /ˈtɛn/ and keep the /ʃən/ segment smooth; avoid vowel reduction that makes /tɛn/ ambiguous. IPA references: US /əˈtɛn.ʃənz/, UK /əˈten.ʃənz/, AU /əˈten.ʃənz/.
"She split her attentions between work and family, trying to balance both demands."
"The manager issued multiple attentions to safety protocols across departments."
"In the meeting, the attentions of the team were drawn to the budget shortfall."
"The teacher scanned the room, directing attentions to the important slide on the board."
Attentions derives from attention, a noun formed in English from the Old French attendre ‘to hold, wait, or attend,’ which itself comes from Latin attendere ‘to stretch toward, give heed to,’ from ad- ‘to’ + tengere ‘to hold.’ In Middle English, attention was used primarily in the sense of mental focus. The plural attentions emerged as a back-formation in English usage to describe multiple acts or instances of attention, or as a specialized plural in legal or organizational contexts (e.g., “attentions to the matter”). Over time, attentions has taken on broader figurative senses (points of interest, areas that warrant notice) in both spoken and written English, and is now common in professional writing where managers or teams must address several focal points simultaneously. First known uses appear in late 15th to 16th centuries, with reconstruction in legal/administrative texts that discuss attentions as tasks or notices demanding awareness. Today, attentions is most often seen in plural in business, security, or procedural contexts, though it is less common than the singular form in everyday speech. In contemporary usage, attentions still implies multiple targets for awareness, rather than a single focused attention, though it can also be encountered in fixed phrases like “attentions required.”
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "attentions" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "attentions"
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Pronounce it as /əˈtɛn.ʃənz/ for US/UK/AU. The primary stress falls on the second syllable: a-TEN-tions. Start with a schwa on the first syllable, then a clear short “ten” with an /ɛ/ as in 'bed', followed by a light /ʃənz/ for the third and final syllables. Keep the final /z/ voicing in rapid speech. Imagine saying ‘attention’ and add the plural /-z/ ending.
Common errors include stressing the first syllable (a-TEN- tions) or mispronouncing the /t/ as a flap /ɾ/ in American casual speech, and softening /t/ into a /d/ in rapid speech. Some speakers also reduce /ʃən/ too much, sounding like ‘ten-senz.’ The correction: keep primary stress on /ˈtɛn/ in the middle, pronounce the /t/ as a clear alveolar stop, and finish with /ənz/ or /ənz/ clearly; practice with slow, then normal tempo to stabilize the /t/ and /ʃ/ sequence.
US/UK/AU share the same core: a-schwa-TE N- shənz with /z/ ending. In some UK accents the /t/ can be more dentalized or lightly aspirated, and in some US regional accents the /ɪ/ in the second syllable may be slightly raised towards /e/; the rhoticity does not affect this word since it’s not a rhotic syllable. AU may exhibit a slightly higher vowel in /ˈtɛn/ and more clipped /ənz/ at the end. Overall, keep /ˈtɛn/ as the nucleus in all varieties.
The difficulty lies in the multi-syllable rhythm and the consonant cluster: the sequence /tɛn/ followed by /ʃən/ requires precise tongue positioning to avoid blending into /tɛnˈʃən/ or /ˈæ.tən/. The /t/ + /ʃ/ transition can cause coarticulation issues, and the final /z/ must be voiced without adding extra vowel sound. Maintaining primary stress on the second syllable while keeping the /ʃ/ clear and the final /z/ audible is the key challenge.
There is no silent letter in attentions. Each segment is pronounced: /ə/ (unstressed first syllable) + /ˈtɛn/ (stressed second syllable) + /ʃənz/ (third and final syllables). The /t/ is fully articulated, the /ʃ/ is a distinct sound, and the final /z/ is voiced. Some speakers may reduce the /ə/ or the /ən/ slightly in rapid speech, but all phonemes are present in careful pronunciation.
🗣️ Voice search tip: These questions are optimized for voice search. Try asking your voice assistant any of these questions about "attentions"!
- Shadowing: listen to a short recording of attentions in context (e.g., a manager addressing task attentions) and repeat exactly; focus on syllable timing and the rhythm. - Minimal pairs: practice with attention/attentions and intent/intentions to reinforce stress shift and plural ending; - Rhythm practice: tap the rhythm: unstressed-stressed-unstressed-stressed, then slow to normal speed; - Intonation: practice a rising intonation for a question like “What are the attentions…?” and a falling tone for statements. - Stress practice: emphasize the second syllable /ˈtɛn/ with a stronger vocal fold engagement. - Recording: record yourself and compare with a model; adjust final /z/ voicing to feel the buzzing sound.
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