3 syllables: in, gest, ed. Stress on gest.
in-JES-tuhd
/ˌɪˈndʒɛstəd/
ingested is pronounced in-JES-tuhd (/ˌɪˈndʒɛstəd/). It has three syllables (in-gest-ed), with the stress on "gest". Ingested is the past tense and past participle of ingest, meaning you took something into the body through swallowing or absorption. In context, it often appears in medical or scientific writing to describe something that has been eaten or absorbed. The term is syllabified as in-gest-ed, with stress on the second syllable in most uses, though pronunciation can vary slightly with connected speech.
Ingested is the past tense and past participle of ingest, meaning you took something into the body through swallowing or absorption. In context, it often appears in medical or scientific writing to describe something that has been eaten or absorbed. The term is syllabified as in-gest-ed, with stress on the second syllable in most uses, though pronunciation can vary slightly with connected speech.
- Misplacing stress: say in-GET-sted; correct by keeping the emphasis on the second syllable: in-JEST-ed. - Mispronouncing /dʒ/: treat it as /dʒ/ (the sound in judge) rather than /j/ or /tʃ/. - Final consonant issue: either dropping the /d/ or making it indistinct; ensure a clear voiced /d/ release at the end. - Over- or under-voicing the final /d/: aim for a clean voiced stop release; avoid fricative-like endings. - Consonant blending in fast speech: in-jes-ted in natural connected speech; practice with slow, then faster, ensuring the /dʒ/ blend remains tight but not swallowed. Practice tip: drill the sequence /ɪnˈdʒɛstɪd/ in slow, then at natural pace, then with a sentence for rhythm.
"The patient ingested the medication with a full glass of water."
"Researchers noted that the toxin had been ingested before the exposure occurred."
"She ingested a large amount of caffeine, which caused jitteriness."
It is pronounced /ɪnˈdʒɛstɪd/. The stress is on the second syllable: in-JEST-ed. Start with a short, lax initial vowel /ɪ/, then the /n/ + /dʒ/ blend as in 'end' + 'gest', followed by a clear /d/ at the end. In fast speech, the /t/ can be subtle, but keep the /t/ discernible to avoid blending into /d/.
Common errors include misplacing the stress (saying in-GET-sted) and pronouncing /dʒ/ as /j/ or /dʒ/ as /tʃ/. Another frequent issue is de-voicing the final /d/, producing /ɪnˈdɛsɪt/ or dropping the /t/ entirely. Correction: emphasize the /ˈdʒ/ cluster in the second syllable and release the final /d/ distinctly; practice with minimal pairs like in-gest vs inger-st to reinforce the correct /dʒ/ onset.
US/UK/AU share /ɪnˈdʒɛstɪd/ with minor vowel quality differences. US: slightly flatter /ɛ/ in the stressed /ɛ/; UK: more open /e/ in some speakers; AU: typically non-rhotic but vowel in stressed syllable remains /ɛ/ or slightly raised depending on speaker. Consonants: /dʒ/ remains a solid affricate; final /d/ is either released or t-voiced. Overall, rhythm and vowel quality vary with regional intonation.
The difficulty centers on the /dʒ/ cluster immediately before the /ɛ/ vowel and the end /d/ release in a single syllable flow. The sequence /n/ + /dʒ/ requires precise tongue placement: the front of the tongue rises to meet the alveolar ridge to form /dʒ/. The final /d/ must be released with a clear voicing and not swallowed. Practicing with slow, segmented sounds helps build muscle memory for the two consonantal articulations inside the stressed syllable.
No. In ingested, the 'g' is part of the /dʒ/ sound after the nasal /n/. The sequence is /ɪn/ + /dʒ/ + /ɛs/ + /tɪd/. The /g/ letter is not silent; it represents the voiced palato-alveolar affricate /dʒ/ when combined with the following 'e' and 's' sounds. So you should pronounce the /dʒ/ together, not as a separate /g/ sound.
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- US: /ɪnˈdʒɛstɪd/ with a slightly flatter vowel in stressed /ɛ/. - UK: might have a crisper /t/ release in the final syllable and a more clipped /ɪ/ in the first syllable; /dʒ/ is retained. - AU: similar to US but with more varying vowel quality in the second syllable; non-rhotic tendencies do not affect /ɪnˈdʒɛstɪd/; stress remains on the second syllable. - All: maintain the /dʒ/ as a single phoneme; avoid separating /d/ and /ʒ/. IPA references: US/UK/AU: /ɪnˈdʒɛstɪd/. Tips: keep the tongue at the alveolar ridge for /dʒ/, then release to /ɪd/ for end.
Ingested derives from the verb ingest, which comes from the Latin ingerere, meaning to impose upon or to put in. Ingerere breaks into inter- ‘put into’ and gerere ‘to carry or bear’, evolving into Latin ingere with later forms in Old French as ingester and ingérer. By Middle English, the term had adopted a more medical sense related to taking substances into the body through swallowing. The modern English past tense ingested appeared with standard -ed past suffixation, aligning with other English verbs. First attested in the 15th–16th centuries, the word’s usage expanded with scientific and medical contexts in the 17th–19th centuries, reinforcing its precise, clinical connotation of intake. In contemporary usage, it habitually collocates with substances swallowed or absorbed, framing an event completed in the past as part of a process of ingestion.
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Words that rhyme with "ingested"
-ted sounds
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