3 syllables: de, lu, ded. Stress on lu.
dil-OO-did
/dɪˈludɪd/
deluded is pronounced dil-OO-did (/dɪˈludɪd/). It has three syllables (de-lu-ded), with the stress on "lu". Deluded describes someone who is misled by false beliefs or opinions, often despite contrary evidence; it also can mean they are misled or deceived by their own imagination or illusions. It conveys a sense of error in judgment or perception, typically implying self-deception or unrealistic thinking. The term is commonly used in formal or critical contexts to indicate a mistaken conviction.
Deluded describes someone who is misled by false beliefs or opinions, often despite contrary evidence; it also can mean they are misled or deceived by their own imagination or illusions. It conveys a sense of error in judgment or perception, typically implying self-deception or unrealistic thinking. The term is commonly used in formal or critical contexts to indicate a mistaken conviction.
"- She was deluded into thinking she could finish the race without training."
"- The advertisement left many consumers deluded about the product’s true effectiveness."
"- He grew more deluded as he ignored the growing evidence against him."
Pronounce as dɪ-LOO-dɪd with two clear syllables: de- LOO - ded. The stress is on the second syllable: /dɪˈluːdɪd/. Start with a short, initial d, then a light i, followed by a long U as in 'food,' then a quick dɪd ending. In fluent speech, the final -ed often reduces to /-dɪd/ or /-ɪd/ depending on accent. Audio reference: imagine saying 'dih-LOO-dihd' with emphasis on LOO.
Common errors: 1) Misplacing stress on the first syllable as de-LOO-ded; correct is de-LOO-ded. 2) Shortening the vowel in the second syllable; keep the long /uː/ as in 'food.' 3) Ending with a hard 'ed' as /-ɛd/ instead of the reduced /-ɪd/ or /-dɪd/; aim for /-ɪd/ or /-dɪd/. Practicing the three-element sequence dɪ-LOO-dɪd helps correct rhythm and clarity.
In US English, you’ll typically hear /dɪˈluːdɪd/ with a rhotic r; the /ɪ/ in the first syllable is short. In UK English, /dɪˈluːdɪd/ tends to maintain clear vowel lengths and less rhotic influence in non-rhotic varieties, but most educated speakers still produce /dɪˈluːdɪd/. Australian English mirrors UK vowel quality with /dɪˈluːdɪd/ and a non-rhotic tendency in many dialects but variable. Across accents, the main differences are vowel length, pre-r-vowel linking, and r-coloring after /ər/ sequences; the overall stress pattern and syllable structure stay the same.
The difficulty centers on the long high back vowel /uː/ in the second syllable and the consonant cluster at the end: /-dɪd/. The American tendency to flapped or reduced vowels in casual speech can blur the /ˈluː/ part, while non-rhotic varieties may reduce the final /dɪd/ slightly. Articulatory focus on lifting the tongue to create /uː/ and keeping /d/ clear at the end helps. Also, maintaining stress on the second syllable without swallowing preceding sounds is essential.
The critical nuance is the contrastive stress and the length of the /uː/ vowel in the second syllable. Unlike many two-syllable adjectives, deluded places main emphasis on the second syllable, which can lead learners to over-regularize by stressing the first syllable. Keeping the primary stress on /luː/ and ensuring a crisp /dɪd/ ending will yield natural-sounding speech across contexts. Mouth posture shifts slightly between /dɪ/ and /ˈluː/ to maintain clarity.
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Deluded comes from Latin deludere, meaning to mock, deceive, or belittle. The prefix de- implies removal or negation, while ludere means to play or mock. The verb deludere developed into English as delude, with the past participle deluded and the adjective deluded. Early usage traces to Middle English influenced by Latin via French, where medieval texts used deluden or deluder with sense of misleading or deceiving. By the 16th–17th centuries, English shifted toward the sense of being misled by false beliefs more than mere trickery, embedding a psychological nuance: to be deluded is to hold a belief in defiance of evidence. In modern use, deluded often marks an internal misperception rather than external deception, applying to personal beliefs, tendencies, or self-image. First known uses in early modern English appeared in moralistic or political contexts, where speakers warned against self-defeating, erroneous convictions. The word’s evolution tracks a broader shift from overt deception to inward cognitive misalignment, culminating in contemporary usage as both critical and clinical descriptor of irrational belief, often within discussions of bias and delusion in everyday life and media discourse.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "deluded" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "deluded"
-ded sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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