2 syllables: ig, nored. Stress on nored.
ig-NAWRD
/ˌɪˈɡnɔɹd/
ignored is pronounced ig-NAWRD (/ˌɪˈɡnɔɹd/). It has two syllables (ig-nored), with the stress on "nored". Ignored is the past participle of ignore: to refuse to take notice of or acknowledge something. In usage, it often functions adjectivally or as part of perfect tenses, indicating that attention or acknowledgment did not occur. The word carries a neutral to slightly negative stance, depending on context, and commonly appears in both formal and informal discourse.
Ignored is the past participle of ignore: to refuse to take notice of or acknowledge something. In usage, it often functions adjectivally or as part of perfect tenses, indicating that attention or acknowledgment did not occur. The word carries a neutral to slightly negative stance, depending on context, and commonly appears in both formal and informal discourse.
"She ignored the email and went on with her day."
"The sign was ignored by drivers, leading to a minor accident."
"He felt ignored by his colleagues during the meeting."
In IPA for US: /ɪɡˈnɔːrd/ or /ɪɡˈnɔrd/ depending on syllable timing; UK: /ɪɡˈnɔːd/; AU: /ˈɪɡnɔːd/ with a longer vowel in the first unstressed syllable and a clear final /d/. Primary stress on the second syllable: ig-NORED. Tip: start with a short, light /ɪ/ in the first syllable, then place nucleus on /ɔː/ for the stressed syllable, ending with a crisp /d/.
Common errors include flattening the second syllable stress (e.g., /ɪɡˈnɔrd/ with weak emphasis) and mispronouncing the final /d/ as a soft /t/ or a stopped consonant. Another pitfall is reducing /ɔː/ to /ɒ/ or misplacing the primary stress on the first syllable (IG-nored). Correct by ensuring strong stress on NORED, maintain a clear /ɔː/ vowel in the second syllable, and deliver a clean final /d/ with voice onset and slight aspiration if appropriate.
US tends to have a tense, rhotic /ɹ/ followed by a clear /d/, with the second syllable vowel close to /ɔː/ and a strong /ɹ/ before the final /d/ in some speakers. UK often features a non-rhotic /r/ (less audible), with /ɔː/ in the second syllable and a crisper /d/. Australian English commonly shows a broad /ɒ/ or /ɔː/ in the second syllable and a less prominent /ɹ/; final /d/ remains voiced. Overall, the main variations lie in rhoticity and vowel quality, not in the syllable count.
The difficulty centers on the two-syllable rhythm with stress on the second syllable (ig-NORED), the mid-front lax vowel in the first syllable along with the back open-mid vowel /ɔː/ in the second, and the final /d/ ending that can bleed into a flap or be dropped in fast speech. The transition from /ɡ/ to /n/ to /ɔː/ requires precise tongue retraction and lip rounding. Also, subtle reductions and linking in connected speech can make the vowel before the /r/ tricky for non-native speakers.
A word-specific nuance is the potential vowel length difference in /ɔː/ depending on speaker: some say a shorter /ɔ/ before the /ɹ/ or /d/, while others maintain a longer /ɔː/. Pay attention to your own voice’s acoustic fingerprint: record yourself saying ig-NORED in isolation and in context, then compare to a native example where the second syllable clearly carries the long, rounded back vowel before the liquid or alveolar consonant.
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- US: emphasize rhoticity, smooth /ɹ/ before the final /d/; keep the /ɔː/ somewhat open, not a tight /ɔ/. - UK: typically non-rhotic; the /r/ is less pronounced, the /ɔː/ remains rounded and long; ensure the final /d/ is audible. - AU: vowel quality can drift toward /ɒ/ or /ɔː/ depending on speaker; focus on a clear /ɔː/ before /d/ and keep the final /d/ voiced but not elongated. IPA references: US /ɪɡˈnɔɹd/ (rhotic), UK /ɪɡˈnɔːd/, AU /ˈɪɡnɔːd/.
Ignored comes from the verb ignore, which itself derives from the Middle French ignorier, meaning 'to disregard, to pretend not to know.' The root ignorer traces further to Latin ignorare, from agnitus meaning ‘to be ignorant’ or ‘not to know.’ The English verb ignore appeared in the 17th century with senses of deliberately refusing to notice. Over time, ignore broadened from simple non-recognition to a range of meanings including 'to pay no heed' in both everyday speech and formal writing. As English evolved, ignore gained participial forms—ignored (past), ignoring (present participle), and ignoreable/ignorant (distinct but related). First known uses in English appear in legal and philosophical texts as scholars discussed willful disregard and non-noticing, eventually permeating prose and dialogue in journalism, politics, and personal communication. The nuance shifted from passive non-noticing to active choice, especially in contexts of social interaction and digital communication, where ignoring messages can convey deliberate withdrawal or suppression of attention. By the late 20th century, ignored became common in everyday colloquial usage, frequently paired with pronouns and objects (ignored him, ignored the warning) in both American and British English. The development reflects a broad semantic field around attention, recognition, and perceptual prioritization.
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Words that rhyme with "ignored"
-ord sounds
-red sounds
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