FREE-ziz
/ˈfɹizɪz/
freezes is pronounced FREE-ziz (/ˈfɹizɪz/). Freezes is the third-person singular present tense of freeze, meaning to become hardened or turn to ice, or to stop moving or functioning due to cold, fear, or shock. In pronunciation, it is a verb form that preserves the base vowel sound but adds a final z sound. It often appears in contexts describing a sudden halt, preservation of state, or temperature change.
Freezes is the third-person singular present tense of freeze, meaning to become hardened or turn to ice, or to stop moving or functioning due to cold, fear, or shock. In pronunciation, it is a verb form that preserves the base vowel sound but adds a final z sound. It often appears in contexts describing a sudden halt, preservation of state, or temperature change.
- Common mispronunciations: 1) Not voicing the final /z/ fully, producing /friːz/ or a devoiced /friːs/. Fix by keeping your vocal folds vibrant for the /z/: feel a light buzzing. 2) Slurring /ɪ/ into a less distinct sound; you may say /friːzɪ/ quickly and lose the /ɪ/ quality. Practice by isolating the segment /zɪz/ and ensuring your tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge. 3) Incorrect mouth shape on /friː/: some speakers round the lips; keep a neutral or widened mouth for the /iː/ to avoid a rounded vowel. Progress with slow drills and amplitude control.
"The lake freezes over in winter."
"She freezes when she realizes she’s forgotten her lines."
"The software freezes if the system runs out of memory."
Pronounce it as /friːzɪz/ (US/UK/AU share the same). Start with /friː/ like “free” with a long E. Then /zɪz/ as a voiced z sound plus a light schwa-like position for the /ɪ/ before the final /z/. The stress is on the first syllable: FREE-ziz. In careful speech, keep the /z/ consonant palate with a crisp /z/ onset to avoid sounding like /friːz/ (which would be wrong).
Two common errors: (1) Slurring the final /ɪz/ into a simple /z/ or /zɪ/ and sounding like /friːz/ or /friːzɪ/. (2) Misplacing the tongue during the /friː/ onset, producing a rounded or dull vowel. Correct by shaping the mouth as for ‘free’ with a long /iː/, then add a crisp /z/ followed by a clear /ɪ/ before the final /z/. Ensure the /z/ after the /iː/ is voiced and not devoiced. Practice by isolating /friː/ then add /zɪz/ slowly.
Across US/UK/AU, the vowel in /friː/ stays long and tense; rhotics differences don’t apply to this word’s initial syllable in most dialects. UK RP and US General American share /friːzɪz/, but Australians may prefer a slightly more centralized /iː/ and a flapped or softer /ɹ/ in connected speech depending on speaker. The main variation is vowel quality length and the following /ɪ/ and /z/. None introduce major changes in stress or syllable count.
The difficulty lies in rapid transitions: moving from the long front vowel /iː/ into a short /ɪ/ before the final /z/. The /z/ cluster in /-zɪz/ demands precise voicing and tongue positioning; the /ɪ/ is brief, so speakers may slur it or mispronounce the second /z/ as /s/ or /z/ mishandling. Practicing slow, then speeding up with controlled voicing, and emphasizing the final /z/ ensures the word stays clear.
Is the /ɪ/ in the /ɪz/ portion always pronounced as a full vowel in ‘freezes,’ or can it be reduced in fast speech? In careful speech, /ɪ/ is a short, but present vowel before the final /z/. In very casual, rapid conversation, you may hear a subtle reduction toward a schwa-like vowel, but this residual vowel should remain perceptible to avoid confusing with ‘freezes’ pronounced /friːz/ or /friːzɪ/.
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- US: keep a tense /iː/ with a crisp /z/ and a clear /ɪ/ for the middle; avoid flapping the /t/ or introducing a /d/ sound. - UK: maintain non-rhoticity; ensure the /r/ isn’t produced; focus on a slightly more centralized /iː/ and a precise /zɪz/. - AU: Australian vowels can be more centralized; ensure the second syllable /ɪ/ is short but audible; keep the final /z/ voiced. Always reference IPA and aim for consistent voicing across dialects.
Freeze comes from the Old English freosan, freosan, meaning to freeze or to congeal, with Proto-Germanic roots *freusaną and Proto-Indo-European *preh- ‘to burn, to sweep’. The sense of making something rigid or solid from cold developed in Middle English through influence from Scandinavian and Germanic languages. The noun form ‘freeze’ emerged in Middle English to describe the state of being frozen. The modern verb form freezes (with -es third-person singular) attested from Early Modern English, aligning with the general -es suffix for third-person present verbs in English. The semantic field expanded to include figurative uses such as “to be frozen in fear” and “to halt operations” as technology and everyday life adopted the metaphor of freezing liquids or processes. First known uses appear in technical and poetic texts; the precise earliest citation for ‘freeze’ as a verb in English dates to the 13th-14th centuries, with ‘freezes’ appearing as the third-person present by the 16th-17th centuries as English verb conjugation standardized. In contemporary usage, ‘freezes’ is common in science, weather reporting, and everyday speech.
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Words that rhyme with "freezes"
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