Injured is an adjective describing someone who has sustained harm or damage, typically resulting in pain or a wound. It can refer to physical harm (injured leg) or metaphorical harm (injured reputation). The pronunciation often features a reduced first vowel and a voiced postalveolar or palato-alveolar onset, with a final, unstressed -ed suffix that can sound like /ɪd/ or /əd/.
"She was injured in the accident and taken to the hospital."
"The team suffered an injured player who could not finish the match."
"He presented with an injured shoulder after the fall."
"The plan was compromised by an injured party’s conflicting interests."
Injured comes from the past participle of the verb injure, from the Old French injurer, based on Latin injuriare meaning to wrong or harm. The French term derives from Latin injuria ‘injury, insult, wrong,’ from in- ‘not’ + ius, iur- ‘law, right,’ evolving from the notion of harming someone’s rights or status. The English noun form injure first appeared in the 13th century, with the adjective sense “harmed or wounded” solidifying later in the Middle English period. The word’s pronunciation shifted modestly over centuries; the modern diphthong in the first syllable and the final -ed as a separate syllable reflect reductions and flapping tendencies typical of English. First known use in its modern sense appears in Early Modern English texts, aligning with the rise of standardized spelling and pronunciation conventions in the 16th–17th centuries. Throughout its history, the term maintained its core idea of harm or damage, though extended use now includes figurative harm (injured reputation) as well as physical injury.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Injured" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Injured" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Injured"
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Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Break it as three sounds: /ˈɪn.dʒərd/. The first syllable has the lax near-front vowel /ɪ/ with a light, quick /n/; the /dʒ/ is the voiced palato-alveolar affricate as in 'judge'; the second syllable centers on /ər/ (schwa+r) in non-rhotic accents, followed by the final /d/ or /rd/ sound depending on accent. Stress is on the first syllable: INJ-ured. In careful speech you’ll hear a clear /dʒ/ and a distinct /ər/ before a voiced /d/.
Common errors include: mispronouncing the /dʒ/ as a simple /j/ sound (like 'inyord'); dropping or softening the final /d/ so it ends with an abrupt stop (IN-jər-); and treating the second syllable as /ˈɪn.dʒɜː/ with a full vowel instead of /ər/. To correct: ensure you produce the /dʒ/ cluster correctly with the tongue contacting the alveolar ridge just behind the upper teeth, and use a reduced, rhotacized /ər/ before the final /d/ for natural English rhythm.
US tends to have /ˈɪn.dʒɚd/ with a rhotic /ɚ/ in the second syllable and a clear /d/ at the end; UK often reduces the second syllable to /ə/ resulting in /ˈɪn.dʒəd/, with non-rhoticity affecting vowel quality; Australian usually mirrors UK patterns but with slightly more centralized /ə/ and a softer /d/; all share the /dʒ/ onset but vary in how the second syllable vowels and final /d/ are realized. Audio samples can help align perception to your target accent.
The difficulty lies in the /dʒ/ cluster immediately preceding a reduced /ər/ or schwa and a final voiced /d/. This creates a three-segment sequence that must stay compact in fluent speech. Learners often misplace the /dʒ/ as a simple /j/ or mispronounce the second syllable as /ɜː/ or /ɪə/. Practice the /ndʒ/ transition by starting with hold-and-release gestures and using minimal pairs like 'injury' vs 'injured' to anchor the sequence.
Yes, the primary stress remains on the first syllable in all common adjective uses: INJ-ured. However, in sentence-level rhythm, the following word’s stress can influence perceived emphasis, so you might hear a slightly stronger second syllable if the phrase is focused (e.g., “The INJured man is here,” vs. “the injured man is HERE”). Practicing the steady, primary stress helps maintain clarity across contexts.
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