2 syllables: bla, zing. Stress on bla.
BLAY-zing
/ˈbleɪzɪŋ/
blazing is pronounced BLAY-zing (/ˈbleɪzɪŋ/). It has two syllables (bla-zing), with the stress on "bla". Blazing is an adjective or verb form referring to emitting intense heat or light, or acting with great speed or energy. In usage, it often describes vivid flames, rapid action, or bright outcomes, carrying a connotation of intensity. The pronunciation emphasizes the long A sound and a crisp -z- ending, with a final syllable that blends the /z/ and syllable stress smoothly.
Blazing is an adjective or verb form referring to emitting intense heat or light, or acting with great speed or energy. In usage, it often describes vivid flames, rapid action, or bright outcomes, carrying a connotation of intensity. The pronunciation emphasizes the long A sound and a crisp -z- ending, with a final syllable that blends the /z/ and syllable stress smoothly.
"- The blazing sun beat down on the desert all afternoon."
"- He was blazing through the homework, finishing it in record time."
"- A blazing trail of fireworks lit up the night sky."
Pronounce as /ˈbleɪ.zɪŋ/ (US) or /ˈbleɪ.zɪŋ/ (UK/AU). The primary stress is on the first syllable: BLA-; the first syllable has a long A sound /eɪ/. The second syllable uses a short /ɪ/ before the final /ŋ/. The /z/ is a crisp, voiceless alveolar fricative between the vowels and the -ing suffix, so keep it light but precise. Try saying “blue- zing” quickly without inserting extra vowel sounds. Audio reference: consult Cambridge or Oxford pronunciation audio for /ˈbleɪzɪŋ/.
Two common errors: (1) Turning the second syllable into a full vowel like /ɪə/ or /iː/ leading to /ˈbleɪˈziːŋ/ instead of /ˈbleɪ.zɪŋ/. (2) Slurring the /z/ into a /s/ or flattening the final /ŋ/ so it sounds like /zɪŋ/ with a soft g. Correct by: keeping the /z/ crisp and short between /eɪ/ and /ɪŋ/, avoiding extra vowels. Practice stopping after the z before the nasal /ŋ/. IPA reminder: /ˈbleɪ.zɪŋ/.
In US English, you’ll often hear a crisp /ˈbleɪ.zɪŋ/ with rhotic rless in the syllables and a strong /æ/ quality in some phrases; UK and AU tend to keep /ˈbleɪ.zɪŋ/ with non-rhotic influence in multi-word contexts and less vowel reduction in rapid speech. Vowel length and quality can shift slightly due to surrounding sounds and speed, but the core syllables remain /bleɪ/ and /zɪŋ/ across accents. The rhoticity only subtly affects connected speech, not the base IPA.
The word couples a stressed open-mid diphthong /eɪ/ with a voiceless /z/ followed by a voiced nasal /ŋ/. The transition from a bright diphthong to a nasal can cause vowel length differences and voicing changes for non-native speakers. The /z/ should be distinctly audible before the /ɪŋ/, but many learners fuse /z/ into a sibilant, or shorten the syllable too much. Focus on clean transitions and a short, precise /z/ before the /ɪŋ/.
A notable feature is the /z/ cluster after the first syllable: /ˈbleɪ.zɪŋ/. Unlike some -ing words where the t or d insertion appears in rapid speech, blazing maintains a crisp z, which creates a subtle split between the vowel nucleus and the nasal sonority. The stress pattern on the first syllable plus the high front vowel /eɪ/ contributes to a bright, energetic pronunciation that can be carried through in rapid speech without losing clarity.
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Blazing comes from the verb blaze, from Middle English blasen, Old English blæsan or blæsen, related to Dutch blazen and Germanblasen, all tied to blowing or burning. The root sense was to burn with flame or emit light; by the 16th–17th centuries it acquired a figurative sense of intense speed or energy, as in blazing a trail or blazing through work. The compound adjective form blazing (burning with flame) coalesced in Early Modern English and modernized into common phrases like blazing sun or blazing speed. The word’s core imagery is fire and brightness, extended metaphorically to anything intense or spectacular. First known uses appear in poetry and prose describing literal flames, then later in idiomatic constructions that emphasize rapidity or exuberant action. The pronunciation shift around the -z- cluster and the final -ing variant solidified in early American and British literature, with dialectal emphasis on the first syllable under standard stress patterns. Over time, blazing has become versatile across contexts from weather, culinary, energy, and performance language, retaining the core sense of brightness and intensity.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "blazing" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "blazing" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "blazing"
-ing sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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