2 syllables: ill, ness. Stress on ill.
IL-nuhs
/ˈɪlnəs/
illness is pronounced IL-nuhs (/ˈɪlnəs/). It has two syllables (ill-ness), with the stress on "ill". Illness refers to the state of being unwell or diseased, typically indicating an infection, ailment, or medical condition that affects health. It is a common, everyday noun used to describe the presence of symptoms or sickness, and can also function in broader contexts to discuss health in general terms. The word conveys a temporary or ongoing condition requiring care or treatment.
Illness refers to the state of being unwell or diseased, typically indicating an infection, ailment, or medical condition that affects health. It is a common, everyday noun used to describe the presence of symptoms or sickness, and can also function in broader contexts to discuss health in general terms. The word conveys a temporary or ongoing condition requiring care or treatment.
Practice tips: audio-modeling, deliberate pacing, and recording yourself to compare with native samples will help you avoid these pitfalls.
"Her illness kept her from attending the meeting."
"The doctors treated his sudden illness as a viral infection."
"Public health campaigns aim to reduce illness through vaccination and hygiene."
Pronounce as IL-ness, with stress on the first syllable. IPA: US/UK/AU /ˈɪl.nəs/. Begin with a short, relaxed /ɪ/ as in “sit,” then glide into /l/, and finish with a schwa /ə/ reduced to /əs/ in casual speech. Think of the syllables as a quick, crisp onset + light final: /ˈɪl/ + /nəs/ with a subtle nasal release. In connected speech, the /l/ often stays light and the final /s/ can sound like /z/ in rapid speech. Audio resources can confirm the crisp vowel and the short schwa in the second syllable.
Common errors: (1) Overpronouncing the second syllable by using a full vowel in -ness, e.g., /ˈɪl.lənz/; correct is a short /nəs/. (2) Lengthening the first syllable to /ˈiːl/ or adding an extra vowel, which disrupts the natural rhythm. (3) Omitting the /l/ or replacing it with a /w/ or /r/ in rapid speech. Correct by keeping /ɪ/ as in sit, ensure the /l/ is a light consonant, and close with a schwa plus /s/; the final /s/ can voice as /z/ in fluency.
Across US/UK/AU, the primary variation is rhotics and vowel quality. All share /ˈɪl.nəs/; US speakers often have a slightly softer /ɪ/ and a potential mild rhoticity in connected speech; UK speakers may exhibit a crisper /ɪ/ and a less prominent rhotic if non-rhotic in some contexts; AU speakers align closely with UK in many contexts, with potential vowel reduction in rapid speech. In all, the nucleus remains /ɪ/ and the ending /nəs/ ensures a short schwa. IPA reference: /ˈɪl.nəs/ across varieties with subtle vowel timing differences.
The difficulty lies in balancing a short, tense onset /ɪl/ with a light, unstressed, fast cluster ending /nəs/. Learners often insert an extra vowel or misplace the /l/ in the onset, producing /ˈiːlɪnəs/ or /ˈɪl.nəz/. Focus on keeping a compact /ɪ/ and a pale /l/ while ensuring the /n/ is released cleanly into a short /əs/. Practice reduces coarticulation errors; auditory discrimination helps you hear the subtle schwa reduction in the second syllable.
A distinctive feature is the contrast between the crisp initial /ɪ/ and the reduced final /əs/. The word often reduces in connected speech to /ˈɪl.nəs/ without a separate, stressed final syllable; the final /s/ can assimilate to a /z/ sound in fluent speech. This littleness in the second syllable is a hallmark of many English one-syllable endings and is worth tuning with shadowing to hear the smooth transition from /l/ to /n/.
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Key differences: rhoticity affects only vowel color in some surrounded contexts; timing of the second syllable is slightly shorter in US where flapping may affect adjacent vowels.
Illness comes from Middle English ilnesse, from Old English andlisim, with the general sense of a lack of health. The path from Anglo-Saxon roots to modern English involves the loss of the nasal stop and the simplification of vowel sounds as the word shifted from a compound-like form (a state of being unwell) to a single noun. The Latin influence appears later through the broader medical vocabulary where illnesses were categorized as a state of morbid condition. The earliest attestations in English literature surface in medical texts and moral treatises, where illness is contrasted with health and vitality. Over time, the term codified into a everyday lexical item, acquiring a neutral, descriptive tone suitable for clinical, informal, and rhetorical usage. The evolution reflects social changes in medicine, public health awareness, and everyday speech, where a succinct term for unwellness is favored in both personal conversation and professional discourse.
💡 Etymology tip: Understanding word origins can help you remember pronunciation patterns and recognize related words in the same language family.
Help others use "illness" correctly by contributing grammar tips, common mistakes, and context guidance.
💡 These words have similar meanings to "illness" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "illness" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "illness"
-ess sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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