2 syllables: flood, ed. Stress on flood.
FLUHD-uhd
/ˈflʌdəd/
flooded is pronounced FLUHD-uhd (/ˈflʌdəd/). It has two syllables (flood-ed), with the stress on "flood". Flooded describes something overwhelmed or covered with water, or figuratively overwhelmed with emotion or information. It denotes a state of excessive abundance or saturation, typically resulting from rain, floodwaters, or an influx that exceeds capacity. In everyday use, it conveys a sense of being drenched, submerged, or inundated, and can also describe overwhelmed systems or spaces.
Flooded describes something overwhelmed or covered with water, or figuratively overwhelmed with emotion or information. It denotes a state of excessive abundance or saturation, typically resulting from rain, floodwaters, or an influx that exceeds capacity. In everyday use, it conveys a sense of being drenched, submerged, or inundated, and can also describe overwhelmed systems or spaces.
- You may flip the vowel in the first syllable, pronouncing it as a short /ʌ/ or /ɔ/ instead of the long /uː/. Tip: keep your lips rounded and jaw lowered slightly for /uː/. - Some speakers drop the /d/ entirely in fast speech, producing /ˈfluːɪd/; ensure a full /d/ release. Tip: practice with a plosive + release, voicing clearly. - The second syllable /ɪd/ can be compressed into a near-schwa; instead, articulate a clear /ɪ/ before /d/ for accuracy. Tip: rehearse slow, then speed up while maintaining the vowel.”,
"The basement was flooded after the heavy rain."
"During the launch, the customer service desk was flooded with calls."
"The flood of emails flooded his inbox all morning."
Pronounce it as /ˈfluː.dɪd/ in US/UK/AU. The primary stress is on the first syllable: FLOOD. The second syllable uses a relaxed, unstressed /ɪd/ ending. Mouth starts with a rounded lips for /f/ and /l/, then long /uː/ as in 'food', followed by a light /d/ release and a schwa-like or short /ɪ/ before the final /d/. In careful speech you’ll hear the /d/ at the end clearly: FLOOD-ɪd.
Common mistakes include: (1) misplacing the stress on the second syllable, saying floo-ded with even stress; (2) pronouncing /ˈfluːdɪd/ as /ˈflɒdɪd/ or /ˈflʊdɪd/, mixing vowel quality of /uː/ or reducing it too early; (3) omitting the /d/ at the end or making it an /t/. Correction tips: keep the first syllable long and tense with /uː/, then lightly release the final /d/ with a brief stop. Check your end: ensure the /d/ is audible, not a dental tap. Practice: hold the /uː/ longer before the /d/ and finish with a crisp /d/.
In general, the /ˈfluː.dɪd/ pattern stays, but vowel durations and rhoticity differ. US speakers maintain rhotic r in surrounding vowels; UK and AU often have non-rhotic tendencies in some accents, but /fluː/ remains intact. Australians may reduce vowel length slightly in rapid speech, but the primary stress remains on FLOOD. The ending /ɪd/ can be realized as a syllabic /ɪ/ plus /d/ or a light /ɪd/. IPA guides: US/UK: /ˈfluːdɪd/, AU: /ˈfluːdɪd/; ensure the /d/ is released clearly in all.
Two main challenges: the diphthong /uː/ in 'flood' is long and tense, requiring lip rounding and tongue backing, which can blur with rapid speech; and the final /d/ in /dɪd/ cluster can be devoiced or altered in connected speech, causing the ending to be less distinct. Additionally, the onset /fl/ blends quickly with the long vowel, so coarticulation makes clean separation harder. Focus on keeping the first syllable with a strong /uː/ then a crisp /d/.
Yes: the transition from the long /uː/ to the short /ɪ/ before the final /d/ is a rapid move that can cause vowel reduction or switch to a lax vowel. You should maintain the length of /uː/ while preparing the /d/ release, but then briefly shorten the /ɪ/ portion. Practicing with a slight pause before the final /d/ in careful speech helps you land the pronunciation precisely.
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Flooded comes from the noun flood, which traces back to Old English flod, from Proto-Germanic *fluthuz, related to floods and water flow. The verb flood emerged in Middle English as a metaphorical extension meaning to overwhelm or overwhelm with water, with early usages describing inundation caused by rivers or rain. Over time, flood broadened semantically to include figurative inundation—information, emotions, or numbers—capturing a shift from literal water to a metaphorical overflow. The past participle flooded retained pronunciation close to the base word, with the suffix -ed indicating past action. First known uses as a verb in the 13th–14th centuries coincide with significant European flood events and burgeoning urban water management challenges, embedding the term in both literal hydrological contexts and the figurative lexicon of abundance or saturation.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "flooded" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "flooded" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "flooded"
-ded sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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