Jewel is a precious gem, especially one cut and polished for jewelry. In everyday usage it also stands for something cherished or highly valued. The word typically denotes a gem or a treasured person/thing and is pronounced with a short, closed vowel and a light, final consonant that gives it a crisp, compact sound.
"She wore a glittering jewel necklace at the gala."
"To my grandmother, her grandchildren are true jewels."
"The historic ring is a priceless jewel in the collection."
"He treated the idea as a jewel of wisdom worth preserving."
Jewel traces to the Old French joiel (from joie, joy) and Latin gaudium (joy), but the specific sense of a polished precious stone emerged in Middle English as jewell and ultimately jewel. The term was influenced by the semantic shift from ‘joy’ and ‘delight’ to valuable objects celebrated for beauty. Through the medieval period, jewel denoted both delight and a valuable ornament, gradually narrowing to the gem sense as cut stones became emblematic markers of status and aesthetic value. First known uses appear in late Old French texts and Middle English inventories, where jewels were cataloged among luxury goods and devotional relics. By the early modern period, English speakers used jewel predominantly to describe cut gemstones used in jewelry, while also retaining metaphorical senses for things held dear. The pronunciation stabilized with the modern long vowel in the final syllable, though regional accents may affect the final -el ending’s quality.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Jewel" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Jewel" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Jewel"
-ool sounds
-ull sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Jewel is pronounced as /ˈdʒuː.əl/ in US and UK English. The stress falls on the first syllable, with a long
Common errors include saying /ˈdʒuːl/ with a silent or heavily reduced second syllable, or turning the /juː/ into a shorter /ju/ without the glide. Another mistake is misplacing the stress or slurring the final /əl/. The correct form keeps a light /əl/ at the end and preserves /ˈdʒuː/ at the start. Practice by isolating the vowel length and the final schwa.
Across accents, the initial /dʒ/ remains consistent. In US English, /ˈdʒuː.əl/ often feels slightly tighter, with a quicker /əl/. UK English tends to have a slightly longer, more open /uː/ and a clearer /əl/. Australian English mirrors US timing but may show a more centralized ending and a minor vowel shift in some speakers. Overall, rhoticity is not a factor here; the emphasis stays on the first syllable.
Because it combines a voiced affricate onset /dʒ/ with a long high back vowel /uː/ and a trailing reduced syllable /əl/. The transition from a strong initial sound to a light, unstressed final syllable requires precise jaw relaxation and tongue tip control. Non-native speakers may mispronounce as /ˈdʒuːl/ or drop the final syllable entirely. Focus on maintaining the two distinct syllables and the clear /əl/ ending.
Does Jewel ever appear with a 'silent e' in pronunciation? No. Despite the spelling ending with -el, the final e influences the pronunciation only through the vowel quality of the /uː/ and the light final /əl/. The e is not silent in the way it is in some English words; instead, the word is two syllables with a pronounced /əl/ at the end. IPA: /ˈdʒuː.əl/.
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