2 syllables: en, tail. Stress on tail.
en-TAYL
/ɛˈnteɪl/
entail is pronounced en-TAYL (/ɛˈnteɪl/). It has two syllables (en-tail), with the stress on "tail". Entail means to involve something as a necessary or inevitable part or consequence. It implies that a particular result or obligation follows from a given action, condition, or decision, often requiring certain rights, duties, or implications to be assumed. The term is common in formal arguments, legal discussions, and analytical writing where outcomes are logically connected to prior premises.
Entail means to involve something as a necessary or inevitable part or consequence. It implies that a particular result or obligation follows from a given action, condition, or decision, often requiring certain rights, duties, or implications to be assumed. The term is common in formal arguments, legal discussions, and analytical writing where outcomes are logically connected to prior premises.
- Misplacing stress: You might say en-TAIL with a heavy first syllable or a flat second syllable. Practice: en-TA IL; keep the primary beat on the second syllable. - Not forming the /eɪ/ diphthong clearly: Some learners reduce /eɪ/ to /e/ or /i:/, yielding /ˈɪn.teɪl/ vs /ɪnˈteɪl/. Practice: glide from /e/ to /ɪ/ without breaking the diphthong; feel the mouth shift from mid-open to high-front. - Ending with a heavy /l/ or a weak /l/: a mispronounced /l/ can blur into a vowel; keep the tip of the tongue near the alveolar ridge and touch lightly for a clean, light /l/.
"- The proposed policy would entail higher taxes and increased regulation."
"- In this contract, accepting the offer entails a 12-month commitment."
"- The project entails collaborating with multiple departments and stakeholders."
Pronounce it as /ɪnˈteɪl/. The stress falls on the second syllable: en-TAIL. Start with the short i sound in 'in' (ɪ), then a clear long a as in 'tail' (eɪ), before ending with the 'l' (l). Tip: keep the 'n' light and avoid overemphasizing the first syllable. Listen for the diphthong in the second syllable.
Two common errors: 1) Turning the second syllable into a tense 'ail' without the glide, producing ɪnˈteɪl but with a clipped or mis-timed a. 2) Misplacing the stress as en-TAIL instead of en-TA IL, or flattening the second syllable into a schwa. Correct by emphasizing the long diphthong /eɪ/ with a smooth glide from /ɪ/ to /eɪ/ and keeping the final /l/ clear.
In US English /ɪnˈteɪl/ with a rhotic rless onset, the /ɪ/ is short and the /eɪ/ is a prominent diphthong; US speakers often have a tighter jaw. In UK English /ɪnˈteɪl/ the vowel is similar, but consonant timing and vowel length may feel slightly more clipped; non-rhoticity affects rhythm but not the main vowel. Australian speakers typically produce a clear /ɪ/ and /eɪ/ with a slightly broader vowel space and a lighter /l/. Overall, the vowel quality is stable, but accent affects cadence and rounding of /ɪ/ vs /iː/ in some speakers.
The challenge lies in the compact vowel transitions: the short /ɪ/ onset blends into the high-front diphthong /eɪ/ in a single syllable, and the final /l/ must be softly articulated to avoid a syllabic 'l' or a vocalic ending. Keeping the second syllable stressed while maintaining a clean, brief /ɪ/ before the diphthong requires precise dento-linguistic coordination and a steady airflow. Practicing with minimal pairs helps separate the sounds.
Entail’s key feature is the fixed secondary syllable stress; the word is unstressed on the first syllable and stressed on the second (en-TAIL). There’s no silent letter here, but the /t/ and /l/ must be balanced so the /t/ doesn’t become a stop fused with the following /l/. The rhythm is brisk and concise; misplacing the stress or converting /eɪ/ to a short /e/ alters meaning and naturalness.
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- US: rhoticity is less relevant for entail; keep a strong fronted /ɪ/ and bright /eɪ/. Allow a slightly tensed jaw for the diphthong. - UK: slightly crisper consonants; maintain a sharper /t/ and a clear /l/, with a marginally more forward tongue position. - AU: broader vowel space, diphthong may feel more centralized; keep /ɪ/ crisp and /eɪ/ open with a comfortable glide. All three use /ɪnˈteɪl/ with stress on the second syllable; adjust jaw tension and lip rounding to match rhythm. IPA references: /ɪnˈteɪl/.
Entail comes from the Old French entailer, from en- (in, into) + tenir (to hold). The root tenir traces to Latin tenere (to hold). The sense evolved in Middle English to mean to bind by a legal obligation or to involve as a necessary consequence. By the 14th–15th centuries, entail carried legal connotations related to estates and inheritance, where property was bound to heirs in a defined sequence. Over time, metaphorical use extended to general necessity and implication (to entail risks, responsibilities). The modern usage maintains both legal and metaphorical senses: something that necessarily follows from a decision or action. First known uses appear in medieval legal texts and scholastic writings discussing entailments in property law and feudal obligations, with broader literary adoption in early modern English to describe logical consequences and required steps. The word’s form and sense have remained relatively stable, though the contexts broadened beyond strictly legal language to everyday analytical discourse.
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Words that rhyme with "entail"
-ail sounds
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