Fleece (noun): a soft, warm fabric made from wool or a wool-like material, often used for clothing and blankets. It can also refer to a coat of woolly fur shed by sheep. In everyday use, it conveys a sense of warmth, comfort, and coziness, sometimes with a hint of luxury. The term is also used metaphorically to describe deceit, as in being fleeced.
"The new fleece jacket kept me warm on the hiking trip."
"She wore a plush fleece blanket to snuggle by the fire."
"The farmer sheared the sheep and sold their fleece as wool."
"Some con artists try to fleece unsuspecting customers by overcharging."
Fleece comes from Old English fleos (or flician in some dialects), related to the Germanic word flihk- meaning wool or fleece. The term is ultimately tied to the material obtained from sheep. Its earliest uses in English date back to early medieval texts, where fleece referred primarily to the wool sheared from sheep for textile production. Over time, fleece broadened to describe fabrics designed to resemble wool or to describe the act of fleecing, i.e., swindling someone out of money. The word has parallels in other Germanic languages, where cognates describe wool or a woolen texture. In modern usage, fleece remains primarily tied to woolly fabric (real or synthetic) and also retains the transitive meaning in metaphorical expressions like “to fleece someone,” signaling exploitation or overcharging. The semantic shift from a physical product to an action is a classic example of how material nouns can acquire figurative meanings through cultural usage and idiomatic phrases.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Fleece" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Fleece"
-ase sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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You pronounce fleece as /fliːs/ in US, UK, and AU English. The key is a long /iː/ vowel, followed by the voiceless /s/ fricative. Start with a relaxed bilabial /f/ sound, then the long /iː/ with a high front tongue position and a tense jaw, ending with /s/. The emphasis is on the single syllable. Listen for a smooth glide from /f/ to /iː/ to /s/ in rapid speech. IPA: /fliːs/.
Common mistakes include mispronouncing the long /iː/ as a short /ɪ/ (saying /flɪs/) and misplacing the final /s/ as a voiced /z/ in careful speech. Another pitfall is turning the vowel into a lax, reduced sound in fast speech. To correct: keep the vowel tense for /iː/, push the tongue high and forward, and end with a crisp /s/ without voicing. Practice with minimal pairs: fleece vs fleas (flees is /fliːz/). Your mouth should stay relaxed but controlled through the vowel.
In US, UK, and AU, fleece is pronounced /fliːs/. The main differences lie in rhoticity and vowel quality beyond that. UK English tends to have non- rhotic emphasis with a slightly tighter vowel quality in some regional accents, but /iː/ remains long. US and AU share rhotic tendencies but do not add r-coloring to this word since there’s no r following the vowel. Overall, the same /fliːs/ vowel, with small regional vowel length and mouth shape variations.
The challenge with fleece is producing the pure high-front tense /iː/ vowel while keeping the /f/ initial and /s/ final distinctly unvoiced. Some speakers dip into a lax /ɪ/ or glide into a /j/ sound if not careful, turning it into /fliːd/ or /fliːz/. The key is keeping tension in the tongue arch and avoiding smoothing into a diphthong. Place the tongue high, jaw slightly closed, and end with a clean, crisp /s/.
A unique feature is the long, tense vowel /iː/ that differentiates fleece from many similar-looking words. It needs sustained tongue height and precise lip posture to avoid turning it into /i/ or /ɪ/. Additionally, the transition from /f/ to /iː/ requires a short, controlled lip tension without excessive jaw movement. Focus on a steady, high-front vowel followed by a clear, unvoiced /s/ for crisp articulation.
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