4 syllables: Dox, y, la, mine. Stress on y.
dahks-SEYE-luh-meen
/dɑksˈsaɪləmiːn/
Doxylamine is pronounced dahks-SEYE-luh-meen (/dɑksˈsaɪləmiːn/). It has four syllables (Dox-y-la-mine), with the stress on "y". Doxylamine is a long-acting antihistamine used to treat allergy symptoms and, in combination products, as a sedative for temporary sleep relief. It is typically administered orally in tablet or capsule form and can cause drowsiness; users should avoid activities requiring alertness until they understand their response. The term combines a classic antihistamine core with an ether- or amine-linked side chain, reflecting its pharmacological class and historical naming.
nounDoxylamine is a long-acting antihistamine used to treat allergy symptoms and, in combination products, as a sedative for temporary sleep relief. It is typically administered orally in tablet or capsule form and can cause drowsiness; users should avoid activities requiring alertness until they understand their response. The term combines a classic antihistamine core with an ether- or amine-linked side chain, reflecting its pharmacological class and historical naming.
"The patient was prescribed doxylamine to help with nighttime allergy symptoms and occasional sleeplessness."
"She took a low-dose doxylamine tablet before bed to aid sleep without morning grogginess."
"In many cold medicines, doxylamine provides sedative effects to relieve nighttime coughing and runny nose."
Do-xy-la-mine is stressed on the second syllable: dox-YE-la-meen. IPA US: /ˌdɒkˈsaɪləˌmiːn/; UK: /ˌdɒkˈsaɪləˌmiːn/; AU: /ˌdɒkˈsaɪləˌmiːn/. Break it into dox-xy-la- mine, with the ‘xy’ sounding like the long 'i' in light and the final '-amine' rhyming with 'lime-in'. Keep the y as a consonant /j/ transition between d and ɒk, and ensure the stress lands on the second syllable.
Two common errors: (1) treating the second syllable as 'dok-SI-la' with stress on the third syllable, misplacing the emphasis. (2) Pronouncing the final 'amine' as 'a-meen' instead of 'lə-meen' or 'miːn' with light schwa on the second syllable. Correction: say dox-Y-lə-mēn or dox-Y-lai-lə-meen, with /ˈlaɪ/ not /laɪ/ and ensure final /miːn/. Practice the sequence: /ˌdɒkˈsaɪləˌmiːn/ and keep the /j/ sound after /d/.
In US, UK, and AU, the core is /ˌdɒkˈsaɪləˌmiːn/. The primary difference lies in rhoticity and vowel quality: US and AU often maintain /ɒ/ as a rounded back vowel, with non-rhotic UK accents may have slightly shorter /ɒ/ before /k/ and a clearer /ˈsaɪ/ syllable; the 'l' can be light and the /j/ after /d/ tends to be subtle. Stress remains on the second syllable, but tempo and vowel length can vary slightly with dialect. IPA remains consistent: /ˌdɒkˈsaɪləˌmiːn/.
It blends a complex consonant cluster with a long, unstressed sequence: dox-ˈsy-la-ˌmin. The tricky parts are the医: the /ks/ cluster after /o/ and the diphthong in /ˈsaɪ/ plus the final /miːn/ with a long high vowel. The syllable boundaries aren’t obvious: stress is on the middle syllable, but you must keep the /j/ sound as a link from /d/ to /ɒ/. Finally, the ending -amine is not pronounced as a common English 'amine' from biology; it’s a -ləmīn.
No silent letters in standard English pronunciation for doxylamine, but the sequence dox- begins with a tough /d/ followed by /ɒk/ and /ˈsaɪ/ that can trip learners with the /k/ and /s/ adjacency. The 'x' in dox acts as /k s/ (in practice /ks/), so you produce both sounds in close succession. The final -amine ends with /miːn/, where the 'e' is not silent in this context but contributes to vowel length. Paying attention to the consonant cluster /ks/ after /o/ helps avoid over-lisping or slurring.
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Doxylamine derives from the chemical naming convention for antihistamines. The root dox- often relates to ‘doxy-’ from complex heterocyclic moieties in the molecule. The prefix -yl- is a common linker in organoamine compounds, while -amine indicates the presence of an amine group. First used in pharmacological literature in the mid-20th century as researchers categorized antihistamines by chemical class, with doxylamine appearing among sedating antihistamines in the 1940s–1950s as drug libraries expanded. Its branding and generic naming followed patterns of similar compounds (e.g., diphenhydramine, promethazine), enabling clinicians to infer mechanism (H1 receptor antagonism) even before full pharmacodynamics were established. The term entered medical diction in English-language pharmacopoeias and prescribing references, where it was distinguished by its longer duration of action relative to some non-sedating antihistamines. The historical emphasis on sedation distinguished doxylamine products in over‑the‑counter cold and allergy formulations, particularly in combination products for nighttime relief. The etymology reflects a lineage of synthetic antihistamines built around amine-containing frameworks, with the final syllable audible as -amine, signaling the chemical class and functional group.
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Words that rhyme with "Doxylamine"
-ine sounds
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