5 syllables: in, tox, i, ca, ted. Stress on tox.
/ɪˈntɑksəˌkeɪtɪd/
Say it backIntoxicated describes a state of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs to the point of impaired judgment or coordination. It is often used to denote mild to moderate impairment rather than severe intoxication, and can also appear in figurative uses to express extreme excitement or arousal. The term carries formal and neutral tones in reporting contexts and more casual connotations in everyday speech.
- You make the second syllable too light: If you say in-TOX-i-cated with weak stress, you sound unsure. Practice placing primary stress on TOK and maintain it through the /sɪ/ before the /keɪ/; you’ll hear the rhythm lock in. - You blur the /t/ and /k/ boundary: Don’t rush the /k/ to a /g/ or blend it with the /s/. Spin out /tɒk/ cleanly, then glide into /sɪ/. - Final cluster: -cated often reduces; ensure you articulate /keɪ/ clearly and finish with crisp /tɪd/ rather than a soft /təd/. Actionable tips: use slow rehearsal in isolation: in-TOK-si-kay-ted, then gradually speed up to natural speech while keeping the /t/ boundaries distinct. Record and compare with native samples; use phrase practice: “He appeared intoxicated after the party.” Keep your jaw loose, lips rounded for /ɒ/ and /keɪ/; practice with a mirror and a metronome to keep the rhythm even.
"The driver appeared intoxicated and was pulled over by the police."
"After several cocktails, she seemed intoxicated but insisted she wasn’t drunk."
"Police officers suspected he was intoxicated and administered a field sobriety test."
You say in-TAK-si-kay-tid with primary stress on the second syllable. IPA US: /ɪnˈtɒk.sɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/. The sequence moves from a light initial syllable to a strong stress, then a reduced vowel in the third, then a clear /keɪ/ and a final /tɪd/. Mouth positions: start with a short i, tilt to a stressed back-mid vowel in ‘tok’, then glide into a long ‘ay’ for the ‘cated’ portion, finishing with a crisp /d/. Listen for the rhythm: unstressed-STRONG-unstressed-STRESSED-unstressed. Audio reference: consult Cambridge/Oxford recordings or Forvo for native speakers saying “intoxicated.”
Common errors: 1) Misplacing the stress (say ing-TOK-si-kay-ted); fix by emphasizing the second syllable: in-TOK-si-ca-ted with strong stress on TOK. 2) Slurring the -ti- into -ti-d, producing a mondegreen; keep the -ti- as a light separate unit before the -d. 3) Pronouncing /ɒ/ as /ɑ/ or /ɔ/; use the short rounded /ɒ/ as in ‘not’ for US/UK; in American fast speech, you may hear a reduced vowel, but maintain the /ɒ/ quality in careful speech. 4) Ending with a softened -ed instead of /tɪd/; practice the alveolar stop /t/ followed by clear /ɪd/ or /ɪd/; avoid a dull /təd/.
US: /ɪnˈtɒk.sɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/ with non-rhoticity minimal in some regions; vowel in first stressed syllable is tense. UK: /ɪnˈtɒk.sɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/ with more pronounced /ɒ/ and clear /keɪ/; non-rhotic as standard, linking often absent. AU: /ɪnˈtɒk.sɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/ similar to UK, but with Australian vowel raising or diphthongization in some speakers; some speakers may produce a broader /ɜː/ in the first syllable. The crucial differences: vowel quality in the first unstressed /ɪ/ vs /ɪ/ onsets; rhoticity is minimal across all, as both UK and AU are non-rhotic. Pay attention to the long /keɪ/ and the final /tɪd/ in casual speech where it can be reduced slightly.
Two main challenges: 1) The multi-syllable rhythm with a strong second syllable (in-TOK-si-cated) makes the second syllable unusually prominent, demanding precise stress control. 2) The /ˈtɒk/ cluster and the shift from a closed syllable to a high front vowel in /sɪ/ and the diphthong /keɪ/ require careful timing and tongue positioning to avoid blending sounds. The final /ɪd/ or /əd/ can blur under rapid speech; keep the alveolar stop crisp and the nucleus of the last syllable clear. 3) In fast speech, the unstressed vowels reduce, so you’ll hear reduced vowels; practice maintaining clear onset with minimal reductions to preserve intelligibility.
Note the subtle separations in the sequence -tok-s- i- cated. Between /tɒk/ and /sɪ/ you should preserve a short pause-like beat in careful speech to avoid slurring. The -cated ending contains a strong /keɪ/ followed by a light, crisp /tɪd/. Misplacing the /keɪ/ as /kə/ or blending /tɪd/ into /d/ reduces clarity. Focus on releasing the /k/ cleanly before the affricate /t/; maintain the /eɪ/ diphthong as a distinct nucleus before the final /tɪd/.
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- US: Expect relatively tighter /ɪ/ in the initial syllable; keep /ɒ/ similar to UK. Stress on TOK is the key; avoid a flat rhythm. Ensure your tongue taps the /t/ before the /ɒ/ to produce a clean onset. The final -ed tends to be clear '/d' in careful speech, but quick speech may yield a light /ɪd/ or /əd/. - UK: Slightly more open /ɒ/; non-rhotic, so /r/ isn’t pronounced. The /keɪ/ is a prominent diphthong, with precise articulation between /k/ and /eɪ/. Practice keeping the /ɪ/ reduced between /s/ and /tɪd/ to avoid a heavy ending. - AU: Similar to UK in vowel quality, but with a tendency toward vowel raising in some dialects and more vowel variation. Some speakers may join syllables more, so maintain separations to keep intelligibility; ensure /t/ is crisp and the final /tɪd/ stands out. IPA references help: US /ɪnˈtɒk.sɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, UK /ɪnˈtɒk.sɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, AU /ɪnˈtɒk.sɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/. - General tip: practice with minimal pairs for the middle sounds: “tok” vs “toK” and “sated” vs “said” to maintain clear distinctions across the syllables.
Intoxicate comes from Latin intoxicatus, past participle of intoxicare, meaning to poison or stupefy. The root intrudes from in- (in, into) + toxic(us) meaning poison; tox-, toxic- relates to poison. The Latin intoxicatus was borrowed into English in the 15th century, evolving to its medical and colloquial senses of intoxication by substances in the early modern period. The sense broadened from “poisoned” to “overcome with strong intoxicants” to “excited or overwhelmed” metaphorically, retaining legal and medical connotations in formal registers. By the 19th century, intoxicated was common in journalistic prose to describe alcohol impairment, while today it also appears in informal speech and figurative uses (e.g., intoxicated with joy). The word’s pronunciation preserved the stress pattern on the antepenultimate syllable in traditional derivations, though modern usage tends to highlight the middle syllable. First known use in English literature traces to the 15th–16th centuries in medical writings; its figurative expansion followed in the 18th–19th centuries. The evolution reflects shifting social norms around substance use and a broader vocabulary for altered states of perception.
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Words that rhyme with "intoxicated"
-ted sounds
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