2 syllables: glow, ing. Stress on glow.
GLOH-ing
/ˈɡloʊɪŋ/
glowing is pronounced GLOH-ing (/ˈɡloʊɪŋ/). It has two syllables (glow-ing), with the stress on "glow". Glowing describes emitting a steady, soft light or radiance; figuratively, it can describe someone who looks cheerful or radiant. The word implies warmth and brightness, often suggesting a gentle, continuous sheen rather than a blast of light. It functions as an adjective or verb form, emphasizing the ongoing nature of the glow. In use, it conveys luminosity or a warm, healthy appearance.
Glowing describes emitting a steady, soft light or radiance; figuratively, it can describe someone who looks cheerful or radiant. The word implies warmth and brightness, often suggesting a gentle, continuous sheen rather than a blast of light. It functions as an adjective or verb form, emphasizing the ongoing nature of the glow. In use, it conveys luminosity or a warm, healthy appearance.
"The candle was glowing softly in the dim room."
"Her face was glowing with happiness after the good news."
"The embers glowed, still bright even after the fire had died down."
Glowing is /ˈɡloʊ.ɪŋ/ in US English, /ˈɡləʊ.ɪŋ/ in UK English, and /ˈɡləʊ.ɪŋ/ in Australian English. The emphasis is on the first syllable. Start with /ɡ/ (a hard g as in go), then /l/ with the tongue at the alveolar ridge, then /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ as a long diphthong, followed by a light /ɪŋ/. In rapid speech, the /oʊ/ and /ɪ/ can blur a touch, but you should keep the /ɪŋ/ clearly audible. Visualize a soft punch-drip: GLO-ing, with the glow on the vowel leading into the nasal /ŋ/.
Two common errors: (1) compressing the /oʊ/ into a short /o/ or /ɔ/ sound, which weakens the glow; (2) misplacing the /ŋ/ or making it a /n/ or /ŋk/ cluster prematurely. To correct: keep the first syllable a clear long diphthong /oʊ/ (US) or /əʊ/ (UK/AU) and release into the nasal /ŋ/ quickly. Practice by isolating /ˈɡloʊ/ and then add /ɪŋ/ with a light nasal closure. Ensuring the tongue lightly arches for /l/ without touching the teeth will stabilize clarity.
In US English, /ˈɡloʊ.ɪŋ/ features a strong /loʊ/ diphthong and a clear rhotic or nonrhotic approach depending on the speaker, with the /ɪŋ/ keeping a light, short vowel. UK English often uses /ˈɡləʊ.ɪŋ/ with a more centralized /ə/ in the onset second syllable and a slightly longer /əʊ/; Australian English tends toward /ˈɡləʊ.ɪŋ/ with non-rhotic tendencies and clear, rounded /oʊ/; vowel quality can be more centralized in fast speech. Keep the first syllable crisp, the second syllable reduced but audible, and avoid tensing the jaw excessively across accents.
The difficulty lies in balancing the long diphthong /oʊ/ with a quick, clean /ɪŋ/. Many speakers compress or merge the second syllable, reducing the /ɪŋ/ clarity and making it sound like /gləʊn/ or /ɡloʊn/. Another challenge is maintaining a light, continuous airflow to let the /ŋ/ resonate without closing early. Focus on a steady glide from /oʊ/ to /ɪŋ/ with a relaxed jaw and a gentle nasal release.
The key unique feature is the rapid transition from the strong first syllable /ˈɡloʊ/ to the final nasal /ɪŋ/. Your practice should target maintaining volume and resonance of the /loʊ/ while ensuring the /ɪŋ/ is not swallowed or skipped. A useful cue is to begin with a clear lip-rounded /oʊ/ then snap to the nasal /ŋ/ with a light, continuous airflow, ensuring the two syllables blend naturally rather than produce a clipped, two-beat rhythm.
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- US: emphasize the full /oʊ/ diphthong, keep rhotic or non-rhotic schoolspoken style; maintain a slightly flatter initial vowel before /l/. IPA: /ˈɡloʊ.ɪŋ/. - UK: /ˈɡləʊ.ɪŋ/; use a schwa-like onset /lə/ before /ʊ/ and keep /ɪŋ/ light; avoid over-enunciating the //l// or adding extra vowel length. - AU: /ˈɡləʊ.ɪŋ/; similar to UK but with more relaxed vowel quality and non-rhotic tendencies; keep the same two-syllable rhythm but with broader vowel openness. Focus on keeping lip rounding for /oʊ/ and maintaining nasal /ŋ/ clarity across accents.
Glowing comes from the verb glow, derived from Old English glōwan, related to similar Germanic roots such as Old High German glōn (shine). The base glow traces to Proto-Germanic *glōwô, with the sense of emitting light or heat. In Middle English, glow appeared as a noun and verb meaning to shine, with the -ing participle forming the continuous aspect. Over time, the adjective sense—emitting a soft brightness or exhilaration—became common, especially in poetic and descriptive prose. The word’s semantic expansion also extends to figurative brightness of health or happiness, culminating in phrases like “glowing with pride.” The evolution reflects a shift from tactile, observable light to a broader metaphor for inner warmth and vitality. First known attestations in literary sources appear in late medieval English, with increasing usage in Early Modern English when descriptive adjectives describing appearance became more prevalent. Today, glowing is widely used across literature and everyday speech to convey luminous visibility and an affirmative emotional state, while retaining its literal sense of gentle light.
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Words that rhyme with "glowing"
-ing sounds
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