One syllable: greed.
greed
/ɡɹid/
greed is pronounced greed (/ɡɹid/). It has one syllable (greed), with the stress on "greed". Greed refers to an excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or material gain, often at the expense of ethics or others’ well‑being. It denotes a persistent, single‑minded urge for more, eclipsing other considerations. In everyday use, greed can describe individual behavior, systemic patterns, or moral judgments about priorities and self‑interest.
Greed refers to an excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or material gain, often at the expense of ethics or others’ well‑being. It denotes a persistent, single‑minded urge for more, eclipsing other considerations. In everyday use, greed can describe individual behavior, systemic patterns, or moral judgments about priorities and self‑interest.
"Her greed for profit led her to cut corners on safety measures."
"The novel exposes the greed that corrupts a once-honest community."
"Public outrage erupted over corporate greed and its consequences for workers."
Greed is pronounced with a single stressed syllable: /ɡriːd/. Start with a hard g, then a long ee vowel, and finish with a d. Your mouth opens for /ɡ/, places the tongue high and front for /riː/, and closes with /d/ at the teeth‑ridge. The vowel is a tense, long /iː/ sound, much like in seed. Listen for a smooth, even glide from /ɡ/ to /riː/ to /d/ without extra syllables.
Common errors include shortening the vowel to a near‑short /ɪ/ as in 'grid' or turning the final /d/ into a soft stop. Some speakers insert an extra vowel before the /d/, making /ɡriːə d/ or /ɡrid/. To correct: keep the /iː/ as a single long vowel, avoid breaking it with a schwa, and end with a clean /d/ immediately after the vowel.
In US: /ɡriːd/, rhotic across connected speech with clear /ɹ/ before the vowel. In UK: /ɡriːd/, non‑rhotic in many accents but the pronunciation remains /riː/; some regional speakers may reduce the /d/ slightly in rapid speech. In AU: typically /ɡrid/ or /ɡriːd/ with vowel quality similar to UK; some speakers may shorten the vowel in casual speech. Overall, vowel length and rhoticity influence subtle rhythm, not the core phoneme sequence.
The challenge centers on the long /iː/ vowel and the abrupt /d/ closure right after it in fast speech. People often substitute a shorter vowel or insert a linking vowel when connecting to next words. The mouth must hold a high front position for /iː/ and then snap to the alveolar /d/. Practicing with minimal pairs helps cement the long vowel and the clean stop without extra vowel noise.
Why does 'greed' sometimes sound like 'grieved' in fast speech? In rapid connected speech, the /iː/ can glide toward a schwa before the final /d/, especially when followed by a consonant cluster (e.g., 'greed elsewhere'). This can create an illusion of /ɡriːd/ becoming /ɡriːəd/ or collapsing to /ɡrid/ in casual speech. Focus on a tight, uninterrupted /iː/ and a crisp /d/ to avoid this drift.
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Greed comes from the Old English word grǣd, linked to the Proto-Germanic *greþiz, with meanings tied to greedy, voracious, or eager. In late Old English, greed broadened beyond simple desire to acquire to include an urgent, almost insatiable appetite. The Latin influence on English commerce and moral discourse contributed to the word’s modern sense as a negative trait—an excessive, selfish desire for wealth. Through Middle English and Early Modern English, metaphorical uses expanded to describe not only money but unrestrained appetite in various domains, including power, food, and land. First attested in sources from the 9th–12th centuries, greed’s moral weight matured during the Renaissance as ethics and kapitalist critiques intensified. By the 18th–19th centuries, greed became a common literary and political charge in discussions of capitalism, colonialism, and corporate behavior, preserving its negative connotation while widening its scope from personal vice to systemic critique. Today, greed retains its core sense of insatiable desire for more, often framed as morally problematic or socially harmful.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "greed" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "greed"
-eed sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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