5 syllables: fer, ti, li, za, tion. Stress on za.
fur-tuh-liz-AY-shuhn
/ˌfɝtəlɪˈzeɪʃən/
fertilization is pronounced fur-tuh-liz-AY-shuhn (/ˌfɝtəlɪˈzeɪʃən/). It has five syllables (fer-ti-li-za-tion), with the stress on "za". Fertilization is the process by which a sperm cell fuses with an egg cell to form a zygote, initiating the development of a new organism. In biology and agriculture, the term covers both anatomy and laboratory contexts, including in vitro fertilization. The word emphasizes the act of combining male and female genetic material to begin embryo formation.
Fertilization is the process by which a sperm cell fuses with an egg cell to form a zygote, initiating the development of a new organism. In biology and agriculture, the term covers both anatomy and laboratory contexts, including in vitro fertilization. The word emphasizes the act of combining male and female genetic material to begin embryo formation.
- You may put emphasis on the wrong syllable. Focus on the -zeɪ.ʃən portion as the peak of the word. - Reduced middle vowels: avoid turning /tɪ.lɪ/ into a single quick /tɪl/ without the proper gradual vowel sounds; keep /tɪ.lɪ/ clear. - Mispronouncing -zation as -sation or -zəʃən; practice the sequence /zeɪ.ʃən/ instead. - Final syllable: ensure the 'ən' is light but present, not dropped or overly pronounced. Practice slowing the tail to avoid trailing off.
"Researchers studied the signaling pathways that trigger fertilization in sea urchins."
"The fertilization process in plants involves pollen reaching the ovule via the pollen tube."
"In assisted reproduction, fertilization often occurs in a controlled clinical setting."
Pronounce as /ˌfɜːr.tɪ.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ (US) or /ˌfɜː.tɪ.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ (UK). The primary stress is on the third syllable 'zeɪ', with secondary stress on the first syllable. Break it into fer-til-i-za-tion, and say the -zation ending clearly as -zeɪ.ʃən. In practice, you’ll hear a light reduction on the middle vowel in casual speech: /ˌfɜːr.tɪ.ləˈzeɪ.ʃn̩/ in fast speech. Focus on crisp 'z' plus 'eɪ' to anchor the suffix. Audio resources can reinforce the rhythm.
Common errors include misplacing the primary stress (often stressing the wrong syllable) and mispronouncing the -zation as -shən. Also, the 'ti' can be flattened to /tɪ/ rather than the clearer /lɪ/ sound; learners may insert an extra schwa. Correction: keep the main stress on the syllable with -zeɪ, pronounce the 'til' as /tɪl/ or /tɪl/ without reducing the l, and produce -zeɪ.ʃən as two light syllables. Practice segmenting: fer-til-i-za-tion, then blend for natural word flow.
In US English, you’ll hear /ˌfɜːr.tɪ.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ with a rhotic r and a slightly reduced middle vowel. UK English uses /ˌfɜː.tɪ.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ with non-rhotic r and a closer front vowel in some speakers. Australian tends toward /ˌfɜː.tɪ.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ with vowel qualities between US and UK and a final -ən reduced. The main stress pattern remains similar, but vowel quality and rhoticity shift the overall timbre. IPA references help anchor the differences.
The difficulty comes from the combination of clustered consonants and a multi-syllabic structure: the sequence /ˈfɜːr.tɪ.lɪ/ followed by /ˈzeɪ.ʃən/ requires precise consonant+vowel transitions, especially the 'z' preceding the 'i' in -lɪə or -lɪ/ variants, and the final unstressed -ən. Learners often misplace stress, produce a weak final syllable, or substitute /z/ with /s/. Focus on the 'zeɪ' as a strong beat and keep the final syllable crisp: /ˈzeɪ.ʃən/.
Remember the 'til' is not /tɪl/ with a hard t; it’s light, almost a syllabic 'l' leading into the 'i' of -iza-, so pronounce it as /tɪl/ with the tongue lightly touching the alveolar ridge, letting the next syllable glide. The suffix -ization links to /zeɪ.ʃən/, and the primary stress guides the rhythm: /ˌfɜːr.tɪ.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ (US). Emphasize the /zeɪ/ and keep the transition to -ʃən clean.
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- US: rhotic, clear /r/; strengthen the ruang between /r/ and /t/ to avoid a swallowed /r/; ensure /ɜːr/ has rounder lip posture. - UK: non-rhotic, /r/ is silent; keep /ˈfɜː.tɪ.lɪˌzeɪ.ʃən/ with a crisp /z/ before /eɪ/; watch vowel height in /ɜː/ vs /ɪ/ for the middle syllable. - AU: rhotic-ish but with vowel qualities between US/UK; keep a steady /ə/ or /ɪ/ in the middle depending on speaker; final -ən often reduced. Use IPA as guide and record yourself to compare timbre.
Fertilization comes from the Latin fertilis, meaning fertile or fruitful, from fercare ‘to bear, to produce,’ with the agentive suffix -atio, leading to fertilization in the sense of becoming fertile. The term appears in English in the 17th–18th centuries as scientists described reproductive processes; its usage broadened in the 19th–20th centuries with advances in embryology and assisted reproductive technology. The root fert- is connected to fertility, produce, and bearing offspring, and the suffix -ization marks a process or action. The earliest uses often referred to agricultural soil fertility or plant reproduction, but by the late 1800s, fertilization as a biological term explicitly described gamete fusion in animals and plants, aligning with modern reproductive biology. In modern scientific discourse, fertilization also covers contexts from fertilization in vitro to fertilization in pollination, reflecting its broad sense of initiating a reproductive event. First known English uses occur in scientific treatises where fertilis or fertilisation-like terms described the yielding of offspring or fruits, gradually standardizing to fertilization in contemporary English.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "fertilization" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "fertilization"
-ion sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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