3 syllables: bu, ri, als. Stress on bu.
BER-ee-uhlz
/ˈbɛɹiəlz/
burials is pronounced BER-ee-uhlz (/ˈbɛɹiəlz/). It has three syllables (bu-ri-als), with the stress on "bu". Burials refers to the act or process of placing a body in a grave, tomb, or burial site for final rest. It also encompasses practices, rites, and ceremonies surrounding interment. The term can denote the events, locations, or arrangements involved in honoring the deceased.
Burials refers to the act or process of placing a body in a grave, tomb, or burial site for final rest. It also encompasses practices, rites, and ceremonies surrounding interment. The term can denote the events, locations, or arrangements involved in honoring the deceased.
"The town planned new burials for residents after the outbreak of the disease."
"Historically, royal burials in the cathedral drew thousands of spectators."
"The family discussed arrangements for the burials and the associated memorial service."
Break it into bu- ri- als with primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈbɜːr.i.əlz/ (US) or /ˈbɜː.ri.əlz/ (UK/AU). The /ɜː/ vowel is a mid-central to open-mid vowel, the /r/ is a strong rhotic approximant in American speech, and the final /əlz/ often reduces to a quick schwa+l+z cluster in fluent speech. Practice by saying Bronx-like 'BURR' + 'ee-uhlz' quickly, keeping the 'r' lightly sung in non-rhotic variants.
Common errors include 1) misplacing the primary stress on the second or third syllable, which makes the word sound like ‘bu-RI-als’ or ‘buri-ALS,’ and 2) flattening the /ɜː/ to a short /ɜ/ or /ʌ/, which reduces the word’s natural American rhythm. Another frequent issue is blending /r/ and /ɪ/ into a dull sequence, producing ‘BURR-illz’ instead of the clean /ˈbɜːr.i.əlz/. To correct, keep the initial /ˈbɜː/ nucleus strong, separate the /i/ as a light second syllable, and end with a crisp /əlz/.
In US English, you’ll hear a strong rhotic /r/ in /ˈbɜːr.i.əlz/. In many UK varieties, the /r/ after the vowel is not pronounced when non-rhotic; you may hear /ˈbɜː.i.əlz/ with a lighter rhotic influence, and smoothing of the /ɜː/ vowel. Australian speakers tend toward /ˈbɜː.ri.əlz/ with an audible /r/ depending on speaker. Overall, the main differences relate to rhoticity and vowel quality; the syllable boundaries and final /əlz/ tend to stay stable.
The difficulty lies in the schwa-like or mid-central nucleus in the second syllable, the rapid /ɜː/ versus /ɜːr/ quality in rhotic accents, and the final cluster /əlz/ that can reduce to a muted syllable in fast speech. People often merge /i/ with /ɪ/ or drop the /l/ in casual speech. Focusing on a clean, separate /ˈbɜːr.i.əlz/ with a clear /ɜː/ nucleus, a crisp /l/, and minimal vowel reduction helps. Practicing the sequence slowly will stabilize the rhythm.
A unique feature is maintaining the three-syllable rhythm with a distinct second syllable /i/ and a trailing /əlz/ that doesn’t collapse into /əlz/ as a quick, nearly “ulz” sound. This requires separate mouth positions for the /i/ vowel and the following /əl/ cluster, ensuring you don’t merge the second and third syllables. Keeping a light but audible /i/ helps the word stay crisp and intelligible in fluent speech.
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The word burial comes from Old French burial (12th century), from Late Latin burra, but previously from burialis (grave) in Medieval Latin, rooted in classical Latin gurra (mound, pile) via earlier Germanic forms. The modern sense of burying a body in the ground developed in Middle English as burien/berien, with the noun burial emerging to denote the act or result. Historically, interment practices have varied widely across cultures and epochs, from earth interments to tombs and mausoleums. The term’s usage expanded in religious and legal contexts to describe ceremonial rites and the disposition of corpses. First known uses appear in ecclesiastical and legal texts of the 13th–14th centuries, frequently paired with rites, cemeteries, and monuments; by the 17th–18th centuries, burial in churchyards and state funerals became common phrases in English prose. The plural burials appears in the 15th century as a count noun describing multiple instances of interment and the social/legal processes surrounding them, and it remains in contemporary usage across contexts such as archaeology, anthropology, and modern funeral practices.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "burials" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "burials"
-als sounds
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