3 syllables: fu, gi, tives. Stress on fu.
FYOO-jit-ivz
/ˈfjudʒɪtɪvz/
fugitives is pronounced FYOO-jit-ivz (/ˈfjudʒɪtɪvz/). It has three syllables (fu-gi-tives), with the stress on "fu". Fugitives refers to people who are escaping law enforcement or custody. The term can describe individuals who evade capture over a period, often actively avoiding surveillance. In plural form, it emphasizes multiple escapes or escapees and is commonly used in legal, news, and investigative contexts.
Fugitives refers to people who are escaping law enforcement or custody. The term can describe individuals who evade capture over a period, often actively avoiding surveillance. In plural form, it emphasizes multiple escapes or escapees and is commonly used in legal, news, and investigative contexts.
"The fugitives were pursued through the countryside by a task force."
"Several fugitives turned themselves in after the manhunt expanded."
"The documentary followed a group of fugitives as they crossed borders."
Say it as /ˈfuː.dʒɪ.tɪvz/. Start with a stressed long /uː/ in FUG-, then a brief /dʒ/ as in judge, followed by a short /ɪ/ in -it-, and end with a clear /vz/ voiced z. The syllable boundary is FU-GI-TIVES, with primary stress on FU. Keep the /dʒ/ sound crisp but not overly heavy, and ensure the final /vz/ is voiced and not devoiced. You can listen to native audio for confirmation on pronunciation.
Common missteps: treating the /dʒ/ as a simple /j/ (wrong: /fuː.ji.tɪvz/). Another error is lengthening the second syllable too much or misplacing primary stress, leading to fuˈjɪdʒɪˌtivz. Finally, the final /vz/ can sound like /f/ or /z/ without voiced vibration. Correction: keep /dʒ/ as a single affricate, place primary stress on the first syllable, and finish with a clear, voiced /v/ + /z/ sequence: /ˈfuː.dʒɪ.tɪvz/.
In US, you’ll hear /ˈfuː.dʒɪ.tɪvz/ with a rhotic r influence on surrounding vowels but not in this word; the /ːuː/ is elongated slightly. UK and Australian accents share the /ˈfjuː.dʒɪ.tɪvz/ form, but UK speakers may produce a slightly rounded /uː/ and less rhotic coloration; AU tends to a closer fronted vowel and more clipped final -vz in rapid speech. Overall, vowel length and coherence of the /dʒ/ sound are consistent across regions.
The difficulty lies in the multisyllabic rhythm: three syllables with a clustered /dʒ/ followed by a cluster /tɪvz/. The /ˈfuː/ onset requires a long tense vowel, then a quick transition into /dʒ/ before a short /ɪ/ and a voiced final /vz/. The tricky part is keeping the vowel durations even, maintaining the affricate /dʒ/ clearly, and ensuring the final /vz/ is audible without devoicing.
The most unique feature is the transition from the long /uː/ in FU- to the /dʒ/ immediately after, creating an affricate chain /fuː.dʒ/. It’s crucial to avoid a break or glide between /uː/ and /dʒ/, keeping a smooth, fast movement into /ɪ/ and then the stress on the first syllable. Also ensure the final /vz/ is voiced and not reduced to /z/.
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Fugitives comes from the Latin fugitivus, meaning 'flying, fleeting, prone to flight,' from fugere 'to flee.' The word traveled into Old French as fugitif and then into English by the 16th century, initially in legal and religious contexts to denote people who flee from justice or from duty. The core sense—someone who flees or escapes—prevailed, expanding to modern use for individuals evading law enforcement. Over time, it developed a neutral plural noun for people in flight as well as a broader metaphor for anything that escapes control or capture. The word retains its emphasis on movement away from confinement and pursuit, and today it is most frequently heard in crime reporting, courtroom proceedings, and biographies that involve escape narratives.
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Words that rhyme with "fugitives"
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