2 syllables: gla, brous. Stress on gla.
GLAB-ruhs
/ˈɡlæbrəs/
glabrous is pronounced GLAB-ruhs (/ˈɡlæbrəs/). It has two syllables (gla-brous), with the stress on "gla". Glabrous is a technical term meaning completely hairless or smooth, often used in biology to describe skin or surfaces without hairs. It conveys a precise condition rather than a general aesthetic, and appears in specialized journals or descriptions. The word is formal, science-forward, and not commonly used in everyday speech, but it may arise in academic discussions or taxonomy contexts.
Glabrous is a technical term meaning completely hairless or smooth, often used in biology to describe skin or surfaces without hairs. It conveys a precise condition rather than a general aesthetic, and appears in specialized journals or descriptions. The word is formal, science-forward, and not commonly used in everyday speech, but it may arise in academic discussions or taxonomy contexts.
"The glabrous surface of the specimen facilitated a clean, uniform staining process."
"Biologists noted the glabrous skin of the plant’s fruit, which reduced fungal adhesion."
"The researchers compared glabrous and hairy varieties to assess moisture retention."
glabrous is pronounced /ˈɡlæ.brəs/ (US/UK style). The stress is on the first syllable: GLA-brus. The second syllable is a reduced, schwa-like /ə/ followed by /s/ or /z/ depending on context in connected speech. Focus on the crisp /l/ and the light, unstressed final /əs/. Audio reference: consult standard dictionaries or native speaker corpora where you’ll hear the smooth transition from /b/ to /r/ in linked speech.
Common errors: misplacing stress (saying gla-BRUS), overemphasizing the second syllable, or pronouncing the final as /z/ and making it /s/ or vice versa. Correct by maintaining primary stress on GLA and keeping the final /əs/ as a neutral syllable with a short schwa /ə/ and an /s/ or /z/ depending on voicing in the following sound. Ensure the /l/ is light and the /br/ cluster is clean, not blended with the vowel.
In US and UK, initial /ɡl/ emerges clearly with a light, relaxed /l/; the /æ/ is short in 'glab,' and the ending /brəs/ remains compact. US tends toward a slightly rhotic, smoother /ɹ/ transition before /əs/. Australian English mirrors UK vowels but can be a touch more centralized, with subtle vowel length differences. Overall: /ˈɡlæ.brəs/ with minimal final vowel prolongation across accents.
Difficulties stem from the unusual consonant cluster /ˈɡl/, the short, clipped /æ/ before a consonant pair /br/, and the final unstressed /əs/ syllable that can reduce to /əz/ or /əs/. The /l/ can be velarized when followed by /b/. Practice focusing on the crisp onset, keeping the /l/ light, and ensuring the /br/ cluster stays tight without inserting extra vowel timing.
Yes: primary stress on the first syllable: GLA-brus. The second syllable is unstressed and reduced to a schwa in fast speech. The feature to monitor is the /l/ following the initial /ɡ/ and the /br/ cluster; avoid letting the /l/ exhale into the following /b/. In careful speech, you’ll clearly hear the two syllables with a compact transition between /læ/ and /br/.
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Glabrous comes from Latin glabrus, meaning smooth or bald, from glabrare meaning to make smooth, with the augmentative or adjectival suffix -ous; English borrowed it in the 18th–19th centuries through scientific Latin usage. The root glab- refers to smoothness or baldness and appears in other specialized terms such as glabellum and glaber (bare). The first known uses appear in natural history and anatomical descriptions in Latin manuscripts and early modern scientific texts, where precise skin or surface conditions were essential to classification. Over time, glabrous acquired a technical nuance, distinguishing smooth, hairless surfaces from the more general “smooth” in lay language. In modern biology, it remains a precise descriptor for absence of hair follicles or trichomes, extending to tissues, seeds, and plant surfaces where hair-like structures are absent. Its usage underscores the importance of morphology in comparative studies and taxonomy, especially when describing transparent or austerely smooth phenotypes. The term has rarely crossed into everyday prose, retaining a distinctly clinical or scholarly resonance.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "glabrous" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "glabrous" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "glabrous"
-ous sounds
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