3 syllables: cru, ci, fied. Stress on cru.
KROO-suh-feyed
/ˈkɹusəˌfaɪd/
crucified is pronounced KROO-suh-feyed (/ˈkɹusəˌfaɪd/). It has three syllables (cru-ci-fied), with the stress on "cru". Crucified is the past participle of crucify, meaning to condemn someone to a cross as punishment or to treat someone with extreme hostility or fatal consequence. In everyday use, it often describes a severe moral or social condemnation or punishment, or a historical/pictorial act. The term carries strong religious and historical associations and is used figuratively in modern language to signify intense scrutiny or suffering.
Crucified is the past participle of crucify, meaning to condemn someone to a cross as punishment or to treat someone with extreme hostility or fatal consequence. In everyday use, it often describes a severe moral or social condemnation or punishment, or a historical/pictorial act. The term carries strong religious and historical associations and is used figuratively in modern language to signify intense scrutiny or suffering.
"- The public figure was crucified in the court of public opinion after the scandal."
"- In ancient Rome, slaves were crucified as a brutal form of execution."
"- He felt crucified by the relentless criticism from his critics."
US/UK/AU pronunciation centers on three syllables: /ˈkruː.sɪ.faɪd/. Primary stress falls on the first syllable. The middle vowel is a lax, short i /ɪ/, followed by the final diphthong /aɪ/ as in “fly.” Mouth position: /k/ with a high back tongue, /r/ with slight bunched or tapped quality, /uː/ as a long back vowel rounded, then /sɪ/ with a clear short i, and /faɪd/ ending with /f/ + /aɪd/. Audio reference note: listen to native speakers saying “crucified” in natural contexts to confirm the rhythm and final glide.
Common errors include misplacing stress (say-ing ‘cru-ci-fied’ with even stress), reducing the /ɪ/ to a schwa before the /f/, or mispronouncing the /ɪ/ as /iː/ in some accents. Another frequent pitfall is rounding the /uː/ too much or turning /aɪ/ into /ɪ/ or /eɪ/. Correct these by ensuring primary stress on /ˈkruː/, maintaining a shorter /ɪ/ in the middle, and ending with a clear /aɪd/ glide.
In US, UK, and AU, the initial /kruː/ is similar, but rhotics differ: US is rhotic, so /ˈkruː.sɪ.faɪd/ with a pronounced rhotic r in some speakers before the vowel; UK and AU tend toward non-rhotic or weak rhotic realizations, affecting the perceived r. The middle /ɪ/ vowel is relatively short in all, but some UK speakers may reduce it visually to /ə/ in rapid speech. Australians generally have a shorter /ɪ/ and quicker /faɪd/ closure, with less vowel reduction in polite careful speech.
It combines a multi-syllabic structure with a diphthongal final /aɪd/, a mid-vowel /ɪ/ in the middle, and a compound onset /krjuː/ that can cause transitional difficulty. The /juː/ sequence after /r/ can blur to /rjuː/ or /ruː/. The stress on the first syllable emphasizes a long /uː/ in an environment where adjacent consonants (s, f) can distract articulation. Practicing the three-phoneme block and the final alveolar fricative helps stabilize it.
A unique aspect is the combination of a long first vowel /uː/ and a rapid /s/ followed by a short /ɪ/. It’s common for learners to substitute /ɪ/ with /iː/ or to alter /faɪd/ into /faɪ/ or /faɪd/ with reduced final stop. Focus on maintaining clear /s/ before the /ɪ/ and ending with the crisp /d/ after the /aɪ/. Also be mindful that some speakers make a tiny linking /r/ sound in careful speech.
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Crucified derives from the verb crucify, from Latin crucifīcāre, formed from crux, cruc- meaning ‘cross’ and -facere meaning ‘to make.’ The root crux (cross) points to the method of execution where victims were affixed to crosses. The sense expanded metaphorically in English to describe severe punishment or extreme reception by others. The noun crucifix represents a representation of the cross, and crucifixion as a practice appeared in ancient civilizations, later well-documented in Roman contexts. The earliest English usage of crucify is attested in Middle English forms such as croisifiyen and croisifyen around the 13th–14th centuries, often translating Latin crucifixio. By the 16th–18th centuries, the word appears in religious and political contexts to describe martyrdom, persecution, or condemnation, while in modern secular usage it frequently bears metaphorical weight, as in “crucified by criticism” or “crucified in the press.” The term has retained its violent imagery, though in figurative speech it often signals intense social or moral punishment rather than literal execution.
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Words that rhyme with "crucified"
-ied sounds
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