Flannel is a soft, woven fabric, typically cotton or wool, used for shirts and bedding. As a noun, it also refers to a garment made from this fabric, and in some contexts to a warm, fuzzy texture in general. It conveys warmth, coziness, and a tactile, brushed surface that traps air for insulation.
"She pulled on a blue flannel shirt to stay warm on the chilly morning."
"The bedsheets were made of brushed flannel, extra soft against the skin."
"He wore a flannel scarf to the fall market, its plaid pattern brightening his coat."
"They wrapped the baby in a soft flannel blanket before the nap."
Flannel comes from the Welsh word flanel or French flanelle, ultimately tracing to Latin vana ‘rag’ via an older sense of ‘cloth’ used for coarse fabrics. The word appears in English in the 16th century, originally referring to a coarse woolen cloth from the Midlands and Wales. By the 17th–18th centuries, flannel broadened to describe soft, brushed fabrics prepared for warmth, notably cotton flannel and wool flannel. The term evolved with textile innovations—brushing and napping—to create a fuzzy surface that traps heat. Its semantic range shifted from generic coarse cloth to the specifically brushed, warm, plaid fabrics used in shirts and bed coverings. The modern usage centers on the comfortable, casual garment and the soft textile feel, maintaining cultural associations with warmth and rugged practicality. First known use in print references soft cotton or woolen fabrics used for apparel and bedding in the early modern period, with regional variations in spelling and material composition across Britain and North America.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Flannel" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Flannel" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Flannel"
-nel sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Flannel is pronounced with the primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈflæ.nəl/. The first vowel is the short a sound (as in cat), the second syllable is a schwa- or reduced vowel, ending with an l sound. Practice by saying “FLAN-nel,” making sure the /æ/ is open and the tongue low-mid, then glide into a light /n/ and the final /əl/ with a relaxed, neutral vowel before the dark L. Listen to native samples in pronunciation tools for exact audio reference.
Common errors: misplacing the stress as second syllable (fal-LEN-el) and articulating the second syllable with a full vowel (flan-EL) instead of a reduced /nəl/. Another frequent error is pronouncing the final /l/ as a light, voiceless sound or adding an extra syllable. Correction: keep primary stress on FLAN-, reduce the second syllable to /nəl/ with a short, neutral vowel and an syllabic L. Practice by isolating /flæ/ and then /nəl/ in rapid repetition.
In US, UK, and AU, /ˈflæ.nəl/ is common, with rhoticity playing little role here; rhotics don’t affect the final /l/. UK speakers may have a slightly more clipped /æ/ and a clearer /l/ depending on regional accents. Australian listeners often have a broader, more centralized vowel in the /æ/ region and a lighter /l/ in final position. Overall, the core is /ˈflæ.nəl/ with minor vowel quality shifts and consonant clarity across dialects.
The challenge lies in the subtle diphthongless /æ/ plus the final /əl/ sequence: you must move from a front, open vowel to a soft, compact schwa with a trailing dark L. The potential pitfall is a mispronounced /n/ or overemphasizing the second syllable, producing /ˈflæ.næ.l/ or /ˈflɛn.əl/. Focus on a quick, light /n/ transition and a relaxed /əl/ to nail the rhythm.
The unique feature is the short, open front vowel in the first syllable and the close, reduced vowel in the second syllable, creating a two-mora word with a compact final /əl/ plus a light, alveolar /n/. The stress pattern is initial, so you’ll hear a crisp onset with a short second syllable. Pay attention to the quality of /æ/ in fast speech to avoid drifting toward /e/ or /ɪ/.
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