2 syllables: El, lipse. Stress on lipse.
il-IPS
/ɪˈlɪps/
Ellipse is pronounced il-IPS (/ɪˈlɪps/). It has two syllables (El-lipse), with the stress on "lipse". Ellipse (noun) refers to a closed curve resembling an elongated circle, with all points equidistant from two fixed points called foci. In mathematics, it is the set of points where the sum of distances to the foci is constant. The term is also used in astronomy and design to describe oval shapes or elongated ellipses.
nounEllipse (noun) refers to a closed curve resembling an elongated circle, with all points equidistant from two fixed points called foci. In mathematics, it is the set of points where the sum of distances to the foci is constant. The term is also used in astronomy and design to describe oval shapes or elongated ellipses.
- You often replace /ɪ/ with a lax schwa, making the word sound like "uh-LOPS" or "ell-ips." Fix: keep a crisp /ɪ/ in the second syllable, not a full schwa. - The final /ps/ cluster is easy to mispronounce as either /p/ or /s/ only. Fix: end with a brief, aspirated /p/ release into /s/, like the word 'lips' but with the preceding /l/ and short /ɪ/. - Some learners overemphasize the initial 'ell-' making it sound like 'EH-lipse.' Fix: reduce initial vowel tension, keep the /l/ light and fluid, then move to the second syllable.
"The planet's orbit is nearly circular, but more accurately it’s an ellipse."
"She traced an ellipse on the whiteboard to model the path of the satellite."
"The necklace pendant had a delicate silver ellipse shape."
Ellipse is pronounced /ɪˈlɪps/ in US and UK English, with the stress on the second syllable. Start with a short, lax initial /ɪ/ as in 'kit,' then a light /l/ followed by a quick, unstressed /ɪ/ vowel and a clear /p/ from the lips closing, finishing with a voiced /s/. Mouth position: relaxed jaw, tip of the tongue near the upper teeth for /l/, then a brief /ɪ/ before the aspirated /p/ and final /s/. Audio reference: typical pronunciation tutorials will model /ɪˈlɪps/ repeatedly.
Common errors: (1) Stressing the first syllable as 'EL-lipse' by overemphasizing the initial vowel; (2) Slurring the /l/ and /ɪ/ into a single sound or turning /ɪ/ into a schwa; (3) Final /ps/ pronounced as /p/ or /z/ instead of the crisp /ps/ sequence. Correction: keep secondary stress off the first syllable, produce a light, clear /l/ followed by a short /ɪ/, then a crisp /p/ with lip closure and a voiceless /s/ after release. Practice saying /ɪˈlɪps/ in slow, then normal speed.
In General American and most UK varieties, /ɪˈlɪps/ is consistent with a short, tense /ɪ/ in both vowels and a clear /ps/ cluster. Some British accents may have a slightly clipped /ɪ/ and more syllabic rhythm, but the stress pattern remains second syllable. Australian English typically maintains /ɪ/ vowels, often with a slightly broader intonation, but the /ps/ remains intact. Emphasis on the second syllable persists across accents.
The difficulty centers on the /l/ sequence followed by /ɪ/ and the consonant cluster /ps/ at the end, which requires precise lip closure and air release. Non-native speakers often misplace the /ɪ/ or drop the /p/ in /ps/ blending, or mis-stress the syllable. Focusing on: 1) placing the tongue for an articulate /l/ without a vowel intrusion, 2) triggering a crisp /p/ before an audible /s/, and 3) maintaining the second-syllable stress helps improve accuracy.
A unique aspect is the short, quick /ɪ/ between /l/ and /p/; ensure you don’t vowel-lengthen the second syllable or turn the /ɪ/ into a schwa. Keep the /ɪ/ crisp and brief, like in 'lip,' so the sequence /lɪps/ remains tight and clear. Some speakers may insert a tiny vowel between /l/ and /p/—avoid this by training with minimal pairs emphasizing the /l/ to /p/ transition.
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- US: maintain rhotic neutrality; vowels are short and clipped before /ps/. - UK: avoid over-tensing the /ɪ/; maintain crisp /p/ + /s/ without voicing changes; single-tap /l/ often suffices. - AU: keep /ɪ/ compact and avoid vowel lengthening; rhythm tends to be slightly more melodic but keep the /ps/ cluster tight. IPA references: /ɪˈlɪps/ across accents; note non-rhotic tendencies in some older UK varieties do not affect this word's final /s/.
Ellipse comes from the Latin ellipsis, meaning 'a falling short' or 'defect,' which itself stems from the Greek elleipsis (ellipsis) meaning 'a leaving out' or 'omission.' In geometry, the term was popularized in the 17th century with the works of Apollonius of Perga, who studied conic sections. The concept of the ellipse as a locus of points with a constant sum of distances to two fixed points emerged from earlier Greek studies of conics and was formalized during the Renaissance as algebra and geometry advanced. The English adoption retained the spelling ellipse through Latinization, with the modern sense of a “flattened circle” expanding in mathematical and design vocabularies. The first known English use appears in the 17th century mathematical texts, aligning with the period’s surge of geometric formalism. Over time, ellipse has broadened to include the oval shapes in art, architecture, and celestial mechanics, while preserving its mathematical core of a constant-sum property.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Ellipse" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Ellipse" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Ellipse"
-ple sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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