6 syllables: Hy, po, chon, dri, a, sis. Stress on dri.
heye-puh-kawn-DREE-uh-sis
/ˌhaɪ.pə.kɔnˈdri.ə.sɪs/
Hypochondriasis is pronounced heye-puh-kawn-DREE-uh-sis (/ˌhaɪ.pə.kɔnˈdri.ə.sɪs/). It has six syllables (Hy-po-chon-dri-a-sis), with the stress on "dri". Hypochondriasis is a psychological condition characterized by excessive worry about having a serious illness, often despite medical reassurance. It involves disproportionate health anxiety, frequent health-related checking behaviors, and persistent fear about illness progression. The term is used clinically to describe a pattern of hypochondriacal concern rather than a specific disease.
nounHypochondriasis is a psychological condition characterized by excessive worry about having a serious illness, often despite medical reassurance. It involves disproportionate health anxiety, frequent health-related checking behaviors, and persistent fear about illness progression. The term is used clinically to describe a pattern of hypochondriacal concern rather than a specific disease.
"Her doctor diagnosed her with hypochondriasis after she spent hours researching every symptom online."
"The patient’s hypochondriasis led to repeated visits to the emergency room."
"Therapy helped reduce the intensity of her hypochondriasis by addressing health-related worry."
Phonetically: /ˌhaɪ.pɒn.drɪˈeɪ.siˌɪ.sɪs/ (US), with primary stress on the -dria- element and a secondary stress on the -sis suffix. Break it into hypo-CON-dri-a-sis, noting that the 'ch' is treated as a hard k-like sound before 'dri'. Start with hi as in high, then pon as in pon-der, then -dri-a- as in dry-uh, and -sis as sis with a long i sound preceding. You can listen to a reference audio on Forvo or Pronounce for precise mouth movements.
Common errors: 1) Dropping or misplacing the secondary stress, making it sound like hypo-CHON-dri-a-sis; 2) Misreading 'chd' cluster as a softer sound, producing 'hikon-dre-asis' instead of the hard 'k' before d; 3) Vowel quality in -iae- sequence: pronounce as -eɪ- rather than a dull -i-; Correction: maintain /drɪˈeɪ.siˌɪ.sɪs/ with clear /ˈ/ before -eɪ- and use a crisp /d/ before the -ri-.
US tendency to reduce vowels less in unstressed syllables but keep clear /ˌhaɪ.pɒn.drɪˈeɪ.siˌɪ.sɪs/ with rhotic /ɹ/ sounding. UK often features non-rhoticity; the /r/ in -dria- may be less pronounced, giving /ˌhaɪ.pɒn.drai.əˈsiː.sɪs/ and a slightly shorter /ɪ/ in final syllables. Australian tends to be similar to UK with slight vowel length differences and less pronounced /ɪ/ in final cluster; final /ɪsəs/ may reduce to /ɪsɪs/ in casual speech.
Key challenges: the three-syllable -chondri- portion combines a consonant cluster and a mid-central vowel sequence, and the -ia- can be perceived as ambiguous between /ɪə/ and /iə/; the final -sis adds an extra syllable with a light /sɪs/ or /siː.sɪs/ depending on speaker. The stress pattern shifts across syllables, and the 'ch' is a velar plosive before /d/, which can be muffled by rapid speech. Practicing with careful segmentation helps.
A unique feature is the mid-stress on -dria- and the subsequent secondary stress on -sis in some pronunciations, producing a subtle rhythm: /ˌhaɪ.pɒn.drɪˈeɪ.siˌɪ.sɪs/. The tricky part is the /dr/ transition from a soft to a hard dental-alveolar cluster just before -ri-, and maintaining a clean /ˈdrɪ/ start of that syllable. Listen to native speaker audio to refine this transition.
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Hypochondriasis comes from Late Latin hypochondriasis, from Greek hypochondriāsis. The Greek element hypo- means 'under' and chondros refers to the cartilage of the ribs, historically signifying the upper abdomen beneath the thorax as the seat of the sense of disease. The root chondros appears in ancient medical texts to denote the chest region. The term emerged in medical discourse in the 16th–17th centuries, originally describing a temperament or body humoral state associated with the chest and abdomen, which physicians believed predisposed people to hypochondriac conditions. By the 19th and early 20th centuries, hypochondriasis shifted to describe a psychiatric condition centered on excessive illness worry rather than a purely physical cause. In modern psychiatry, hypochondriasis has been refined into Illness Anxiety Disorder in DSM-5, while the term remains common in lay use. The word’s evolution reflects changing boundaries between somatic symptoms and cognitive-emotional interpretations of health.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Hypochondriasis" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Hypochondriasis"
-ous sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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US: rhotic; /ɹ/ pronounced; stronger /ɪ/ in final syllables; keep stress pattern intact. UK: non-rhotic; /r/ less audible; vowels may be more clipped; final /s/ often crisp. AU: similar to UK; vowel qualities slightly broader; /ɒ/ vs /ɒ/; maintain rhythm.
