2 syllables: gaz, ing. Stress on gaz.
GAY-zing
/ˈɡeɪzɪŋ/
gazing is pronounced GAY-zing (/ˈɡeɪzɪŋ/). It has two syllables (gaz-ing), with the stress on "gaz". Gazing is the act of looking steadily and intently at something, often with rapt attention or curiosity. It typically functions as a present participle form of gaze, signaling ongoing or habitual looking. In everyday usage, gazing implies a focused, sometimes dreamy or evaluative visual inspection, rather than casual glancing.
Gazing is the act of looking steadily and intently at something, often with rapt attention or curiosity. It typically functions as a present participle form of gaze, signaling ongoing or habitual looking. In everyday usage, gazing implies a focused, sometimes dreamy or evaluative visual inspection, rather than casual glancing.
- Misproducing the /eɪ/ as a steady /e/ or /ei/ without the glide; ensure you begin with an opening jaw and glide to /ɪ/ without breaking. - Dropping the final /ŋ/ or replacing it with /n/; keep the back of the tongue raised for the velar nasal. - Stress misplacement or rushing the second syllable; maintain primary stress on the first syllable and give the second syllable its proper, lighter weight. - Common mis-segmentation where /ɪŋ/ lands as a weak vowel plus /ŋ/, resulting in /zɪŋ/ instead of the crisp /zɪŋ/; keep airflow steady and the tongue relaxed yet precise.
"She stood at the window, gazing out at the snow-covered street."
"His gaze lingered on the painting, completely absorbed in the colors."
"They found her gazing toward the horizon, lost in thought."
Say it as /ˈɡeɪ.zɪŋ/. The first syllable carries primary stress, with the diphthong /eɪ/ like in 'face'. The second syllable is a short, unstressed /zɪŋ/ with a soft z sound followed by an alveolar nasal /ŋ/; ensure you finish with the velar nasal closing the word. You can listen to examples on dictionaries or Pronounce resources to hear the rhythm.
Common errors include flattening the /eɪ/ diphthong to a flat /e/ as in 'get', and dropping the final /ŋ/ to an /n/ sound. Some speakers also misplace emphasis, producing /ˈɡeɪzɪn/ or /ˈɡeɪ.zɪŋ/ with the wrong syllable stress. To correct: keep the /eɪ/ glide distinct, maintain the /z/ between syllables, and finish with the velar nasal /ŋ/, not an alveolar /n/. Practice with minimal pairs and slow articulation.
In US, UK, and AU, the primary stress remains on the first syllable /ˈɡeɪ.zɪŋ/. The difference lies in vowel quality; US often has a narrower /eɪ/ and a slightly shorter /ɪ/; UK vowels can be slightly longer with a clearer /eɪ/ and subtle rounding on /eɪ/. AU is similar to US but may feature broader intonation and slightly more open /ɑ/ before the /z/ depending on speaker. The final /ŋ/ remains velar in all. Listen to regional exemplars for precise shifts.
The challenge centers on the diphthong /eɪ/ and the quick transition into /zɪŋ/, especially ensuring the /z/ is voiced and not reduced. Learners often merge /eɪ/ into /e/ or shorten /ɪŋ/ to /ɪ/. Mastery requires precise tongue position: a slight opening of the jaw for /eɪ/ and a clean alveolar /z/, followed by a stable velar /ŋ/. The trailing nasal can carry the syllable weight, so keep it distinct and not swallowed.
Focus on the transition from the stressed /eɪ/ to the unstressed /ɪ/ and the following /ŋ/. This combination—stressed diphthong, voiced alveolar fricative, and velar nasal—creates a tight, quick sequence. You’ll also want to keep the second syllable clipped but audible, avoiding excessive vowel reduction. Practice with slow, then progressively faster tempo to maintain clarity while preserving the natural rhythm.
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- US: emphasize a flat, forward /eɪ/ with a crisp /z/; keep /ɪ/ lax and short; final /ŋ/ should be velar and barely aspirated. - UK: slightly more rounded /eɪ/ and longer /ɪ/; the /z/ can be a bit softer; maintain non-rhotic tendencies except in some regions; the /ŋ/ remains pronounced. - AU: draw on broader vowels; /eɪ/ may open a touch more toward /æɪ/ depending on speaker; ensure the final /ŋ/ is robust and not nasalized into a vowel-like sound. - IPA anchors: /ˈɡeɪ.zɪŋ/ across variants; keep rhotics minimal in non-rhotic accents; watch vowel height and tongue position across dialects.
The verb gaze originates from the Middle English word gazen, derived from the Old Norse gaða or ga-sa, with senses related to fixed, steady looking. The modern form gazing appears by adding the -ing participle to gaze, aligning with English morphology for ongoing actions. The core semantic field—looking intently—has maintained through centuries, but the phraseology around gaze has broadened: from archaic surveillance or praying gaze in literature to casual, descriptive use in contemporary speech. The earliest recorded uses in Middle English texts center on descriptions of fixed, long looks at objects or persons, often implying attention or admiration rather than mere sight. Over time, gazing has acquired nuances: romantic gazing, navigational gazing, or contemplative gazing in introspective prose. In modern usage, gazing is commonly complemented by prepositional phrases (gazing at, gazing into) and occasionally by compound expressions (star-gazing, eye-gazing in photography). The pronunciation stabilization of gaze (ɡeɪz) in Early Modern English influenced gazing’s two-syllable rhythm with a persistent long /eɪ/ in the first syllable and a soft trailing /ɪŋ/ in the second, reflecting typical English gerund formation. First known uses appear in 14th- to 15th-century texts, with the sense of fixed attention evolving gradually into everyday language by the 18th century.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "gazing" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "gazing"
-ing sounds
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