ik-STING-gwisht
/ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/
extinguished is pronounced ik-STING-gwisht (/ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/). Extinguished means brought to an end or no longer burning; it describes something that has been put out or silenced. The term is often used for fires, lights, or conflicts, and implies a completed, decisive cessation. It carries a formal or narrative tone, suitable for precise account of events or circumstances.
Extinguished means brought to an end or no longer burning; it describes something that has been put out or silenced. The term is often used for fires, lights, or conflicts, and implies a completed, decisive cessation. It carries a formal or narrative tone, suitable for precise account of events or circumstances.
"The campfire was extinguished before everyone went to bed."
"The oil lamp was extinguished when the battery failed."
"The debate was abruptly extinguished by a sudden interruption."
Pronounce /ɪkˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃt/. The syllable boundary is ex-TING-u-ished, with primary stress on TING. The first vowel is a short i, the th-phoneme is silent relative to spelling, and the final -ed yields a 't' sound due to the -t suffix. Tip: keep the tongue relaxed before the /ŋ/ and then release into /ɡw/ cluster smoothly. You’ll hear a crisp t preceding the -ɡw- cluster. Audio reference: consult Cambridge/Forvo pronunciation for a native-speaker listening model.
Common errors: (1) Misplacing stress: pronounce as ex-TING-uished with weak second syllable; (2) Mispronouncing -guish as /ɡwiʃ/ or /ˈɡwɪdʒ/; keep it /ɡwɪʃt/ as a single /ɡw/ plus /ɪʃt/. Corrections: ensure /ˈstɪŋ/ holds the core; keep the /ŋ/ fully nasalized before the /ɡ/ onset; never reduce the -t/ end. Practice minimal pairs to fix the cluster: like “sting” vs “stitch” patterns.
US/UK/AU share /ɪkˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃt/ with similar stress. Differences lie in rhotics and vowel quality: US rhotic /ɹ/ can influence preceding vowel length in connected speech, though here /ɪ/ remains short; UK non-rhotic may reduce linking r-like color; AU often aligns with UK but with slightly broader vowels. Watch for intonation: US tends to a flatter final rise or fall, UK may feature clearer final consonant release, AU might show a softer /ɡw/ onset and slightly higher vowel in /ɪ/.
The difficulty centers on the consonant cluster at the end: /t/ followed by /ɪŋ/ and then /ɡwɪʃt/. The /ŋ/ nasal requires precise tongue position, and the /ɡw/ combination demands a quick, controlled lip and tongue movement to avoid a vowel intrusion before the cluster. The final /t/ after /ʃ/ can create glottalization in casual speech; keep the final /t/ crisp. Pay attention to the forward placement of tongue for /ɡ/ and the smooth transition to /wɪʃt/.
Yes. The -t- at the end of extinguished is typically a released or lightly aspirated /t/ in careful speech. In rapid speech, some speakers may produce a glottal stop before the final /t/ or even skip it in casual contexts. Practicing with a clear, final /t/ will help you maintain clarity, especially when the preceding /ʃ/ blends slightly with /t/. Use a final crisp /t/ in slow speed, then ease into a softer release in fast speech.
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US: rhotic influence is subtler here; US speakers may have stronger /ɹ/ quality elsewhere, but this word keeps /ɹ/ neutral. UK: non-rhotic tendency; you might hear a more pronounced final consonant; AU: often a smoother, slightly broader vowel for /ɪ/ and a balanced /ɡw/ sequence. IPA cues: /ɪkˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃt/. Focus on the /ɡw/ blend without inserting extra vowel. Remember stiff or relaxed jaw depending on pace.
Extinguished comes from the verb extinguish, itself from medieval Latin extinguire, composed of ex- 'out' or 'from' + stinguere 'to quench, kill' (related to Latin flagere ‘to burn’). The root stinguere evolved through Old French estinnir/estournir into English extinguish by the 14th century, carrying the sense of quenching a flame or moisture. The suffix -ed marks the past participle, yielding extinguished meaning having caused something to be no longer burning or active. Over time, the metaphorical sense expanded to describe ending or suppressing non-physical things like rumors, conflicts, or emotions, aligning with broader usage in both formal prose and narrative writing. The earliest recorded usage appears in Middle English texts, with antecedents in Latin phrases denoting ‘to extinguish’ in the sense of quenching light or fire, and the semantic extension to cessation or termination has solidified in modern usage. The word passed into general use with a stable pronunciation pattern across dialects, though the final -ed cluster can influence syllable count and stress when used in different sentence cadences. Historical corpus evidence shows steady, uncharged adoption in the 16th–19th centuries, culminating in its present-day commonality in both spoken and written English.
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Words that rhyme with "extinguished"
-hed sounds
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