2 syllables: con, signed. Stress on signed.
kuhn-SEYEND
/kəˈnsaɪnd/
consigned is pronounced kuhn-SEYEND (/kəˈnsaɪnd/). It has two syllables (con-signed), with the stress on "signed". Consigned means entrusted or committed to someone or something for care or disposal, or assigned to a specified fate or place. It can also describe something that has been transferred or handed over, often formally, through a process or system. The term carries nuance of deliberate placement or assignment, sometimes with an implied finality.
Consigned means entrusted or committed to someone or something for care or disposal, or assigned to a specified fate or place. It can also describe something that has been transferred or handed over, often formally, through a process or system. The term carries nuance of deliberate placement or assignment, sometimes with an implied finality.
Tip: Practice saying “con-” quickly then “-signed” with a crisp /saɪnd/ ending. Use a mirror to monitor lip rounding and tongue position, and record yourself to hear the contrast.
"- The artefact was consigned to the museum archive for safekeeping."
"- He was consigned to a desk job after the accident."
"- The old ship was consigned to the shipbreakers after decades at sea."
You pronounce it as /kənˈsaɪnd/. The stress is on the second syllable: con-SIGNED. The first syllable is an unstressed schwa /kən/. The vowel in the second syllable is the long I diphthong /aɪ/, ending with a voiced alveolar nasal /n/. A quick tip: say “c-un” quickly, then “sined” with a crisp /saɪnd/ ending. Visualize the mouth opening into a small smile for /aɪ/ and finish with a light nasal release.
Two common errors are pronouncing it as /ˈkɒnsaɪnd/ with a short /ɒ/ like “cot,” and softening the /d/ into a /t/ or an airless stop. To correct, use a clear /ɪ/ or schwa in the first syllable (/kən/ not /ˈkɒn/), and maintain the final /nd/ as a nasal with a light tongue contact rather than a hard /t/ edge. Practice maintaining the /aɪ/ diphthong in the second syllable and ending with a voiced nasal /nd/ rather than an aspirated stop.
In US English, you’ll hear /kənˈsaɪnd/ with a rhotic /r/ absence in the syllable before the vowel, and a clear /ɪ/ or /ɪə/ in the final cluster; in UK English, the /ɪ/ can be slightly more centralized and non-rhotic; in Australian English, the /ɪ/ in the second syllable may be a near-close front unrounded vowel, and the /d/ can be more dental-alveolar with softer release. Overall the primary stress remains on the second syllable across accents.
The challenge lies in the consonant cluster at the end: the final /nd/ must be a voiced nasal followed by an alveolar stop without adding extra aspiration, which can blur in rapid speech. Also, the diphthong /aɪ/ in the stressed syllable demands a precise glide from /a/ to /ɪ/. Finally, the initial unstressed /kən/ can become a reduced, unclear schwa, making the full word harder to hear in casual talk.
Is the word ‘consigned’ ever pronounced with a secondary stress or with a silent letter? No; the standard pronunciation has a single primary stress on the second syllable, /kənˈsaɪnd/, with all letters pronounced in connected speech. There is no silent letter in the common usage; the /d/ is audible, and the /n/ is nasal. In careful speech, the /ɪ/ or /aɪ/ are distinctly released.
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- IPA references: US/UK/AU: /kənˈsaɪnd/; ensure the /ə/ in the first syllable is not reduced to a schwa so far that it becomes a weak vowel; keep a clear /aɪ/ in the second syllable.
Consigned comes from the Latin consignare, to mark with a seal or sign, and to hand over or entrust. The prefix con- means “together” or “with,” and signe means “mark” or “sign.” In Latin, consignare fused into consign and was adopted into Old French as consigner, meaning to entrust, consign, or deliver. By Middle English, consigne (from Old French), broadened to mean entrustment or deposit, often in legal or administrative contexts. In legal, maritime, and commercial language, consigned items are placed under the control of a party for management, sale, or safekeeping, with the ownership often remaining with the consignor until the terms are fulfilled. The form consigned (past participle) appears in English to denote something that has already been entrusted or delivered into someone’s care or a particular disposal or fate. The semantic evolution tracks the movement from a concrete act of marking/entrusting to more abstract notions of transfer, assignment, or dispatch, retaining the core sense of deliberate placement or delivery with responsibility. First known uses can be traced to medieval Latin and Old French commercial records, with English literature adopting it as a loanword by the 14th–15th centuries, solidifying into modern usage by the 17th–18th centuries in legal and trade language.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "consigned" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "consigned" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "consigned"
-ned sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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