3 syllables: jus, ti, ces. Stress on jus.
JUHS-tuh-suhz
/ˈdʒʌstəsəz/
justices is pronounced JUHS-tuh-suhz (/ˈdʒʌstəsəz/). It has three syllables (jus-ti-ces), with the stress on "jus". Justices refers to judges, especially those serving on a court or tribunal, or to the office or authority of judging. In plural form, it can describe multiple individuals exercising judicial power, or the collective body of judges in a system. The term emphasizes role, function, and the act of delivering legal judgments rather than any specific case. It is commonly used in legal contexts and formal discourse.
Justices refers to judges, especially those serving on a court or tribunal, or to the office or authority of judging. In plural form, it can describe multiple individuals exercising judicial power, or the collective body of judges in a system. The term emphasizes role, function, and the act of delivering legal judgments rather than any specific case. It is commonly used in legal contexts and formal discourse.
"The justices heard the appeal and issued a ruling."
"Several justices agreed with the majority opinion, while others dissented."
"The constitutional court consists of ten senior justices."
Pronounce as /ˈdʒʌs.tɪ.sɪz/ in US and UK; Australian often mirrors /ˈdʒʌs.tɪ.sɪz/ with a slightly shorter final -iz. Start with the CH sound /dʒ/ as in judge, then /ʌ/ (uh) in second sound, then /s/ for -s, and finish with /ɪz/ (ɪ-z) adding sibilant Z. The primary stress sits on the first syllable: jus-; ensure a clear, light second syllable and a plural -es pronounced as /ɪz/.
Common errors: slurring /dʒ/ into /dʒɹ/; giving stress to the second syllable (jus-TI-ses) and mispronouncing the final /ɪz/ as /ɪs/. Correction: keep /ˈdʒʌs.tɪ.sɪz/, with distinct /t/ before the final /ɪz/, and stress the first syllable. Use a crisp /dʒ/ onset, a steady /ʌ/ vowel, then /s/ + a clear /ɪ/ before the final /z/. Practice spacing between syllables to avoid running them together.
US/UK typically share /ˈdʒʌs.tɪ.sɪz/, with rhoticity affecting only preceding vowels in rapid speech; AU tends to be similar but may have slightly clipped vowels and a marginally shorter final -ɪz. In all, the main differences involve vowel quality in /ʌ/ vs /ʌ/ and the duration of the unstressed syllables. The /t/ is clearly released in all, and the final /ɪz/ tends to be crisp rather than lenited in careful speech.
Because you juggle three syllables with a tense onset /dʒ/ followed by a short mid-vowel /ʌ/ and a must-clarify /ɪ/ before the final /z/. The cluster /st/ across syllable boundary can blur in fast speech, and the unstressed second syllable needs precise vowel timing to avoid sounding like /ˈdʒʌs.tə.sɪz/. Mastery requires precise timing between /t/ and /ɪ/ as well as keeping the final /ɪz/ distinct.
The tricky feature is maintaining a clean separation between /t/ and /ɪ/ in the middle syllable, ensuring /ɪ/ is not reduced to a schwa or omitted. You also want a crisp /s/ before /ɪ/ to maintain the syllable boundary. Focus on articulating /dʒ/ clearly at the start and preserving the final /ɪz/ as a distinct consonant–vowel–voiced sibilant sequence rather than merging into a single /z/.
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Justices comes from Middle English justice, from Old French justice, from Latin iustitia, meaning righteousness or justice. The root ius, iuris (law) evolved into iustitia (justice) in Latin, denoting rightful judgment and administration of law. In English, justice referred to fairness and the legal system, and by the 14th century, the plural justices began to appear to describe individuals who exercise judicial power. The specialized sense ‘members of a court’ emerged in legal usage across Europe and colonial English, reinforcing the professional and formal connotation. The current pronunciation and spelling preserve the stem from justice, with -es marking pluralization, and the stress pattern typically on the first syllable in compounds like justices but can vary in compound or context-driven speech. First-known usage appears in Middle English legal texts, with the word gradually standardizing through Early Modern English legal writing as courts and appellate bodies expanded in common-law systems.
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Words that rhyme with "justices"
-ses sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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