3 syllables: in, trud, ed. Stress on trud.
in-TROO-duhd
/ˌɪnˈtɹudəd/
intruded is pronounced in-TROO-duhd (/ˌɪnˈtɹudəd/). It has three syllables (in-trud-ed), with the stress on "trud". Intruded is the past tense of intrude, meaning to enter a place or situation without welcome or permission, often in a way that interrupts or invades. The word emphasizes an unwelcome or forcible entrance and is used in formal or narrative contexts to describe actions that encroached on others’ space or boundaries.
Intruded is the past tense of intrude, meaning to enter a place or situation without welcome or permission, often in a way that interrupts or invades. The word emphasizes an unwelcome or forcible entrance and is used in formal or narrative contexts to describe actions that encroached on others’ space or boundaries.
- Be mindful of vowel length: the /uː/ in the second syllable must be long; avoid a quick /ə/ or /ʊ/. - Don’t drop the /r/; even in non-rhotic accents, you should maintain some rhotic coloration in the /ˈtruː/ sequence when carefully pronounced. - Final cluster: the -ed can be realized as /ɪd/ or /dəd/; choose one and stick to it; don’t append extra syllables. - Stress: place primary stress on the second syllable; ensure the first syllable stays lighter. - Connected speech: in fast speech, you may hear intruded as in-ˈtrū-dəd with a reduced second vowel; practice slow to fix this before speeding up.
"She felt her privacy intruded upon when the neighbor started listening through the wall."
"The journalist admitted that the interview had intruded on the subject’s personal life."
"Warning signs prevent others from intruding into restricted areas during the drill."
Pronounce it as in-TROO-ded, with primary stress on the second syllable: in-ˈtruː-dəd. IPA: US/UK/AU /ɪnˈtruː.dɪd/. Start with /ɪ/ (short i), then /n/; the key is the /ˈtruː/ vowel cluster, a long /uː/ as in 'true'. The final /dɪd/ reduces to a light /dəd/ in fluent speech. Keep your tongue near the alveolar ridge for the /t/ and /d/, and ensure the /r/ is present (even in non-rhotic dialects, you’ll have a linking /ɹ/ quality in American production). Audio reference: [listen for in-ˈtruː-dəd] on pronunciation platforms.
Two frequent errors: 1) Misplacing stress, saying in-TRU-ded with the emphasis on the first syllable. 2) Shortening the /uː/ to a lax /u/ or /ʊ/, giving in-TRUD-ed instead of the long /uː/ in the second syllable. Correction: maintain the long /uː/ in the /ˈtruː/ portion and keep the final /dɪd/ as a light, quick /dəd/ or /dɪd/ depending on rhythm. Also avoid eliding the /r/ in /ˈtruː/ in rhotic accents; keep a clear rhotic or post-vocalic coloration as appropriate.
US: rhotic with full /ɹ/; clear /ˈtruː/ and a crisp /dɪd/. UK: rhoticity varies by region; ensure the /r/ may be less prominent; the /ˈtruː/ remains long; final /dɪd/ is light. AU: often less distinct /ɹ/ and a slightly more centralized /uː/ or /juː/ in casual speech; maintain the long /uː/ sound in careful speech. In all, the second syllable carries primary stress, but the realized vowel quality shifts subtly: /uː/ in US/UK vs. /juː/ or a more centralized nucleus in AU.
The word sits at the crossroads of a heavy syllable with a tense vowel cluster /ˈtruː/ and a rapid coda /dɪd/ that can blend with the preceding /r/ and /n/. The long /uː/ requires precise tongue height (high back) and lip rounding, while the /dɪd/ segment often reduces in rapid speech, risking a flapped or blurred final /d/.
The second syllable houses the long /uː/ in /ˈtruː/ which competes with an immediate /d/ onset to form a two-phoneme nucleus; keeping the /r/ and the /uː/ as a combined rhotic vowel requires careful tongue root control, especially in non-rhotic dialects where the /r/ may be less audible. Accurate timing of the /ˈtruː/ and the subsequent /dɪd/ is essential for natural rhythm.
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US: ensure /ˈtruː/ is a long, rounded vowel with a clear rhotic accent; UK: may reduce rhoticity slightly but keep the long /uː/; AU: tend toward a bit more centralized /uː/ or /juː/ in casual speech; keep the /r/ subtly present in careful speech.
Intruded comes from the verb intrude, which originates from Latin intrudere, composed of intra- (within) + trudere (to thrust, push). The Latin form intrudere evolved into Old French intruder, then intrují?—in English, intrude appeared in Middle English with senses of forcing entry or encroaching. The modern past tense intruded emerged in the 17th–19th centuries as English started regularizing irregulars and forming -ed pasts from verbs with Latin roots. The core meaning—entering a space uninvited—retained the sense of thrusting in, with the metaphorical extension to social or conversational boundaries. First known English uses often describe someone forcing into a physical space; by the 19th century, intruded also described intruding thoughts, questions, or actions in social contexts. The word’s semantic field remains about crossing boundaries, physical or figurative, with a nuance of unwanted imposition.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "intruded" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "intruded"
-ced sounds
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