3 syllables: in, trust, ed. Stress on trust.
in-TRUHS-tid
/ɪnˈtɹʌstɪd/
intrusted is pronounced in-TRUHS-tid (/ɪnˈtɹʌstɪd/). It has three syllables (in-trust-ed), with the stress on "trust". Intrusted is the past tense form of entrust, meaning you have assigned a trust-related duty or responsibility to someone. It implies having placed confidence in another by giving them authority or guardianship over something valuable or important. The sense is formal and historical, often appearing in legal, fiduciary, or ceremonial contexts rather than everyday speech.
Intrusted is the past tense form of entrust, meaning you have assigned a trust-related duty or responsibility to someone. It implies having placed confidence in another by giving them authority or guardianship over something valuable or important. The sense is formal and historical, often appearing in legal, fiduciary, or ceremonial contexts rather than everyday speech.
- You tend to say IN-trust-ed; instead, place primary stress on the second syllable: in-TRUST-ed. Practicing with the /tr/ cluster helps the transition from the second to third syllable. - You blur the /t/ and /d/ at the end; keep the final /t/ released into a crisp /d/; don’t let it slur. - You reduce the middle vowel to schwa /ə/; keep /ʌ/ as in ‘strut’ to preserve the word’s rhythm and meaning.
"The council intrusted the committee with the stewardship of the historic funds."
"She intrusted her portfolio to a seasoned attorney after the merger."
"Historically, the king intrusted the realm to trusted nobles during wartime."
You say it as in-TRUS-ted, with the primary stress on the second syllable: /ˈɪn.trʌs.tɪd/. The vowels are short and crisp: /ɪ/ in the first, /ʌ/ in the second, /ɪ/ in the third, and /d/ ending. The T connects clearly between the second and third syllables. Think of it as entrust in past tense, but with a light, quick second syllable.
Common mistakes: (1) Misplacing stress, saying IN-trust-ed. Put primary stress on the second syllable: in-TRUST-ed. (2) Vowel drift in the middle syllable, pronouncing /ə/ as a lax schwa; keep /ʌ/ as in 'strut'. (3) Final consonant blending, giving a subtle /t/ plus /d/ slur; articulate the /t/ and hard /d/ cleanly at the end. Practice with slow tempo, then speed up while maintaining the /tr/ cluster and final /d/.
US: /ˈɪn.trʌs.tɪd/ with a relatively flat rhotic vowel and clear /t/ between syllables. UK: /ˈɪn.trʌs.tɪd/ similar, but subtle vowel quality differences may occur in non-rhotic contexts; still hold the /tɪd/ ending. AU: /ˈɪn.trʌs.tɪd/ comparable to US, sometimes with a slightly more rounded /ɒ/ in other words, but intrusted stays near /ʌ/. Across all three, the main differences are minor; focus on avoiding vowel reduction in the second syllable and crisp /tr/ onset.
Three main challenges: (1) The /tr/ cluster requires balancing a quick /t/ release with the /r/ following, which can blur if you’re not precise. (2) The middle /ʌ/ is a lax, low-mid vowel that can easily drift toward /ə/ or /ɒ/ for some speakers; keep it clear as /ʌ/. (3) The final /tɪd/ sequence can slur into /tɪd/ if you’re not sharply articulating the /d/ after /t/. Practice by isolating each segment and then blending with controlled tempo.
Intrusted maintains an exact past-tense form of entrust; note the main stress shift to the second syllable even though the word ends with -ed. Some speakers may hypercorrect to /ˈɪnˌtrʌs.tɪd/ with extra secondary stress; avoid this by keeping primary stress on syllable 2 and a clean /t/ before the final /ɪd/.
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- In US English, keep the rhotic /ɚ/ or /ɹ/ in related words, but intrusted itself has a short, non-rhotic feel in stressed syllables; UK and AU maintain clearer /r/ only in rhotic accents. Vowel quality: /ɪ/ in the first syllable tends toward a crisp near-close near-front vowel. /ʌ/ in the second syllable remains strong rather than reduced. - US: forward tongue posture, lips relaxed. - UK: slightly more centralized tongue position, less lip rounding. - AU: similar to US with a touch more nasal brightness in some speakers. IPA references: /ˈɪn.trʌs.tɪd/ for all three regions in typical assessments.
Intrusted derives from the verb entrust, itself from Late Middle English entrusten, formed from en- (a prefix meaning to put into or into) + trust (from Old French trust, from Latin fiduc- ‘trust, faith,’ related to fidēre ‘to trust’). The -ed ending marks past tense. The core sense shifted from giving confidence or custody to entrusting something to someone. Historically, entrust appears in legal, religious, and ceremonial language before becoming common in broader English. First known uses surface in medieval legal documents and religious writings where figures of authority entrust property, safekeeping, or responsibilities to trusted agents. Over time, entrust and its past tense intrusted became established in both formal and literary registers, with intrusted preserving the sense of conveyed trust and delegated custody. Today, intrusted remains relatively rare in everyday discourse, often appearing in formal writings, historical texts, or poetic usage to emphasize a completed act of delegating trust.
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Words that rhyme with "intrusted"
-ted sounds
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