2 syllables: ghost, ly. Stress on ghost.
GOHST-lee
/ˈɡoʊstli/
ghostly is pronounced GOHST-lee (/ˈɡoʊstli/). It has two syllables (ghost-ly), with the stress on "ghost". Ghostly describes something relating to ghosts or resembling a ghost, especially in an eerie, pale, or uncanny way. It conveys a spectral, otherworldly quality—often used to characterize appearances, sounds, or atmospheres that feel haunting or supernatural. The term carries a subtle, sometimes poetic nuance beyond mere coloration of fear.
Ghostly describes something relating to ghosts or resembling a ghost, especially in an eerie, pale, or uncanny way. It conveys a spectral, otherworldly quality—often used to characterize appearances, sounds, or atmospheres that feel haunting or supernatural. The term carries a subtle, sometimes poetic nuance beyond mere coloration of fear.
- Mispronouncing the initial vowel: turning /oʊ/ into a short /o/ or /ɒ/ varies by speaker; fix by practicing the long diphthong with an accurate closing into a mid-lip position. - Dropping the final /li/: many speakers shorten or fuse the second syllable; practice a crisp /li/ with a light tongue tip and gentle alveolar contact. - Over-aspirating the /t/ or producing a separate syllable after /st/: keep the /st/ sequence tight and allow the /l/ to follow directly; avoid stopping between /st/ and /l/. - In rapid speech, reducing /ɡ/ or weakening /st/: ensure the /g/ is voiced, and the /st/ cluster remains audible; don’t let the word sound like /ɡoʊs/ or /ɡoʊst/ without the final /li/. - Schwa in first syllable in British English: some speakers tilt toward /ə/; prefer the more open /əʊ/ or /əʊ/ in non-rhotic accents unless your practice target requires otherwise.
"The village was so quiet it took on a ghostly stillness at dusk."
"She wore a ghostly pallor that suggested she had seen something unsettling."
"A soft wind moved through the trees, giving the garden a ghostly rustling sound."
Pronounce it as /ˈɡoʊstli/ in General American and /ˈɡəʊstli/ in UK English. Stress falls on the first syllable: GHOST-ly. Start with the /ɡ/ sound, then /oʊ/ as in 'go,' followed by /st/ cluster leading into /li/ as in 'lee.' Keep the /t/ light and avoid a separate syllable after the /st/—the word ends with a light /li/ sound. If you’re hearing it slowly, you’ll notice the first syllable carries the primary stress and the second is unstressed but clearly pronounced.
Common errors include compressing the two consonant clusters into a single effort (/ɡoʊstli/ becomes /ɡoʊslti/ or /ˈɡɒstli/ in non-native input) and misplacing stress or vowel quality. You might pronounce the first syllable with an /ɪ/ or /æ/ vowel, or shorten the /t/ into a quick /d/ sound. Correction: keep /oʊ/ as a diphthong, clearly articulate the /st/ cluster, and retain a clean, light /l/ in the second syllable without adding syllable length.
In US English, /ˈɡoʊstli/ features a clear /oʊ/ diphthong and rhotic /ɹ/ influence is minimal since there is no /r/ in the word. In UK English, /ˈɡəʊstli/ includes a longer, rounded /əʊ/ diphthong. Australian English mirrors UK with /ˈɡəʊstli/ but may have a more centralized first vowel; the final /li/ remains crisp. Across all, the main differences center on the first vowel quality and diphthong realization rather than consonant integrity.
The difficulty lies in the two-consonant cluster /st/ after the initial /ɡ/ and the following light /l/ in a rapid syllable transition. The /st/ cluster can lead to a quick release or a slot for a glottal stop if rushed. The /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ diphthong requires precise tongue position changing mid-sound, and the final /li/ demands a clear, non-syllabic release of the /l/. Mastery comes from practicing the transition from /oʊ/ to /st/ and cleanly releasing into /li/.
In fast speech, the second syllable off-glide /li/ can become a light, quick vowel plus a soft /i/ or even a syllabic lateral when extremely rapid. However, careful speakers often retain the /li/ with a small, crisp /l/ and clear /i/ for clarity, especially in formal or semi-formal contexts. If you’re reducing, aim to keep the /l/ audible as you move into the vowel, ensuring listeners still recognize the word as two-syllable.
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- US: Emphasize rhoticity? Not relevant here; focus on the /oʊ/ diphthong, with a clear transition to /st/. Keep /l/ light and alveolar /t/ released quickly into /l/. - UK: First syllable commonly /əʊ/; maintain a slightly rounded lip position and longer diphthong, then a crisp /st/ followed by /li/. - AU: Often similar to UK but with a more centralized first vowel; aim for /əʊ/ with more centralized quality and a clear /l/ and /i/ separation. - Reference IPA for all: US /ˈɡoʊstli/, UK /ˈɡəʊstli/, AU /ˈɡəʊstli/. - Tip: Practice with minimal pairs contrasting /oʊ/ vs /əʊ/ to lock in vowel quality; record and compare to reference pronunciations.
Ghostly derives from ghost, which entered English in the Old English period as gast, close to the Germanic gaste. The noun ghost originally referred to a spirit or apparition and was used in Anglo-Norman French as gase. The augmenting suffix -ly appeared in Middle English to form adjectives indicating resemblance or character, akin to ladylike or saintly. By the 15th century, ghostly described things pertaining to ghosts or seeming spectral, in both literal and metaphorical senses. The word’s figurative use expanded with Gothic literature in the 18th and 19th centuries, where “ghostly” became a common descriptor for atmospheres, voices, and presences that evoke supernatural lingering. The pronunciation stabilized with the ghost in-frasal cluster /ɡoʊst/ followed by -ly /li/, reinforcing the soft, airy ending in modern usage. First known written use appears in early Middle English texts, with the adjectival form becoming common by the Early Modern English period as authors sought evocative ways to describe the unseen or the uncanny.
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Words that rhyme with "ghostly"
-tly sounds
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