3 syllables: de, ce, dents. Stress on ce.
des-EE-duhnts
/dɛˈsidənts/
decedents is pronounced des-EE-duhnts (/dɛˈsidənts/). It has three syllables (de-ce-dents), with the stress on "ce". Decedents refers to people who have died; it is used to describe ancestors or those who have passed away within a family or lineage. In legal or formal contexts, it often denotes someone who has died, with emphasis on succession or inheritance. The term is most common in genealogical, legal, or historical writing, and is typically treated as a plural noun or collective noun when referring to multiple individuals.
Decedents refers to people who have died; it is used to describe ancestors or those who have passed away within a family or lineage. In legal or formal contexts, it often denotes someone who has died, with emphasis on succession or inheritance. The term is most common in genealogical, legal, or historical writing, and is typically treated as a plural noun or collective noun when referring to multiple individuals.
"The decedents of the founding family were honored at the ceremony."
"According to the will, the decedents inherited the estate after probate."
"Researchers traced the decedents’ lineage back five generations."
Pronounce as /dɪˈsɛd.ənts/. The primary stress is on the second syllable: de-CE-dents. Start with a short, lax 'd' sound, then a clear, mid-front vowel in the first or second syllable, followed by a soft 's' before the 'd' and a crisp terminal 'nts'. In careful speech, the vowels are distinct: /ɪ/ in the first, /ɛ/ in the second, /ə/ in the third. See: IPA /dɪˈsɛd.ənts/. Audio guidance: search pronunciations on Pronounce or Forvo using the term decedents.
Common mistakes include misplacing the stress (saying de-CÉ-dents or de-SED-ents) and running the two consonants together as /dz/. Correction: keep stress on the second syllable: /dɪˈsɛd.ənts/. Avoid turning the first /s/ into a z-sound; keep /s/ unvoiced before the /d/; ensure the final -nts is a light, clipped cluster rather than a nasalized ending. Practicing with minimal pairs like decedents vs descendants can help you hear the difference in stress and syllable count.
In US English, you’ll hear /dɪˈsɛd.ənts/ with clear /ɛ/ and a rhotacizing tendency on surrounding vowels. In UK English, the /r/ is typically not pronounced; the vowels remain short, giving /dɪˈsɛd.ənts/ with slightly crisper consonants. Australian English tends toward a flatter /a/ in some syllables and a less pronounced final consonant cluster, still /dɪˈsɛd.ənts/ but with more centralized vowel qualities. The main differences are vowel quality and rhoticity; stress remains on the second syllable in most accents.
The difficulty lies in the multi-syllable stress pattern and the consonant cluster at the end: /dɪˈsɛd.ənts/. The second syllable carries primary stress, which can be unfamiliar for speakers who expect a more even distribution. The -dents ending creates a subtle, almost silent transition between /d/ and /ə/ before the /nts/, which can be mispronounced as /dɪˈsɛd.dənts/ or with a stronger nasal. Focus on maintaining a crisp /d/ before a light /ə/ and ensuring the final /nts/ is not assimilated.
There are no silent letters in decedents, but the word does involve a stress shift: the beat falls on the second syllable (de-CE-dents). The /d/ before the final -ents is pronounced clearly, and the final -nts is a reachable cluster that may be abbreviated in fast speech. Ensure vowels are not reduced too aggressively; keep /ɛ/ prominent in the stressed syllable and avoid turning /ɪ/ into a schwa in that position.
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Decedents comes from the Latin decedere, meaning to die or to fall away, with the suffix -ent denoting a person connected with an action (from French descent, Latin decedere). The shift into English occurred via Old French descendant/decendant and Middle English decedant before stabilizing as decedent/decedents in the sense of people who have died. The term rose to prominence in legal and genealogical contexts to distinguish those who have passed away from the living or from heirs. First attested in English in the late medieval period, it has remained relatively specialized, retaining formal connotations and common use in wills, probate, and inheritance discussions. The plural decedents emphasizes multiple individuals and is often used in legal language to refer collectively to those who have died within a family or estate, and can appear in both historical chronicles and modern probate documents.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "decedents" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "decedents"
-nts sounds
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