2 syllables: en, tailed. Stress on tailed.
in-TAYLD
/ɪˈnteɪld/
entailed is pronounced in-TAYLD (/ɪˈnteɪld/). It has two syllables (en-tailed), with the stress on "tailed". Entailed means to have as a necessary consequence or result; to involve as a natural outcome. In logic or reasoning, it indicates that if something is true, another proposition must also be true. It conveys obligation or prerequisite in some contexts, but primarily marks consequence or entailment in arguments and descriptions.
Entailed means to have as a necessary consequence or result; to involve as a natural outcome. In logic or reasoning, it indicates that if something is true, another proposition must also be true. It conveys obligation or prerequisite in some contexts, but primarily marks consequence or entailment in arguments and descriptions.
"The contract entailed a higher premium for early termination."
"Her statement entailed that the project would be delayed."
"The evidence entailed a need for additional security measures."
You pronounce it en-TAILED, with a primary stress on the second syllable. IPA: US/UK/AU /ɪnˈteɪld/. Start with a short 'i' sound in 'in', then a stressed 'teyl' as in 'tale', followed by a light 'd'. Ensure the 'ea' forms a long aɪ sound /eɪ/. The final 'd' is voiced but not overly released. If you’re listening, you’ll hear a crisp /d/ closing the syllable.
Common errors include misplacing stress (e.g., en-TAILED vs en-TEILD), pronouncing the 'ea' as a short /ɛ/ instead of the long /eɪ/, and adding an extra syllable (en-TAI-led). Correct by stressing the second syllable with /eɪ/ and ending with a clear /ld/. Practice with minimal pairs like tailed vs taill’d to ensure clean final cluster.
In US/UK/AU, the core is /ɪnˈteɪld/. The rhotics differ: US typically rhymes ‘in-TAILED’ with a more rhotic vowel in some contexts, UK tends to be non-rhotic but the /ˈteɪld/ remains; AU mirrors US in many educated varieties but may show slight vowel sharpening. The /eɪ/ diphthong is generally the same; the final /ld/ may be realized as a light, softer /ld/ or with a subtle laryngeal stop in rapid speech.
The difficulty lies in the non-syllabic sequence and the /teɪld/ cluster at the end. You need precise mouth positioning for /t/ and the /eɪ/ glide, plus a clean /ld/ with a light contact. People often mispronounce as /ˈɛn.tæld/ or drop the /l/ sound. Focus on the stressed /teɪld/ and keep the alveolar stop followed by the palatal glide close to the tongue position for /eɪ/ and then a crisp /ld/.
There is no silent letter in entailed. Every letter contributes to the pronunciation: the initial /ɪ/ in the unstressed 'in' and the strong /ˈteɪl/ where /eɪ/ is a diphthong; the final /d/ is voiced. Trick lies in linking the /n/ before the vowel to the following /ɪnˈteɪld/ pattern and ensuring the /l/ is not elided in rapid speech.
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Entailed derives from the verb entail, which traces to Old French entailer, from entail (in the legal sense) ‘to limit, bind by entail’ from Latin in 'in' + tail (from ‘tale’ or ‘tale’? actually from Old French tailler? In English, entail came into use in the 15th century in legal contexts meaning to impose a limitation on inheritance or property transfer). The legal sense evolved to mean something that is necessarily included or implied by a condition, and then expanded to general use meaning to involve as a necessary consequence. The root notion is 'to bind' or 'to entail' in the sense of a chain of consequences that cannot be escaped. First known use in English can be traced to medieval legal language, with the general use appearing in the 16th–17th centuries as legal concepts spread into rhetoric and everyday usage; by the 19th century, entailed had gained broader semantic fields beyond law, including reasoning and propositions implying outcomes.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "entailed" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "entailed"
-led sounds
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