4 syllables: Me, ta, sta, ses. Stress on ta.
muh-TAS-tay-sees
/məˈtæˌsteɪsis/
Metastases is pronounced muh-TAS-tay-sees (/məˈtæˌsteɪsis/). It has four syllables (Me-ta-sta-ses), with the stress on "ta". Metastases are secondary malignant growths that arise when cancer spreads from a primary site to distant organs or tissues. The term refers to multiple such secondary tumors. In medical contexts, it denotes advanced disease and is used to describe the process and locations of spread, rather than a single lesion.
nounMetastases are secondary malignant growths that arise when cancer spreads from a primary site to distant organs or tissues. The term refers to multiple such secondary tumors. In medical contexts, it denotes advanced disease and is used to describe the process and locations of spread, rather than a single lesion.
How to Pronounce Metastases
"The patient’s metastases were detected in the liver and bones."
"Doctors discussed how metastases influence prognosis and treatment options."
"Imaging revealed multiple metastases consistent with metastatic cancer."
Pronunciation: /ˌmɛtəˈstæsɪz/ (US/UK). Stress on the third syllable, with the tertiary stress pattern: me-TA-sta-ses. Start with an unstressed 'me' /ˈmɛtə/, then a stressed 'stas' /ˈstæs/, followed by a light 'es' /ɪz/ in the final syllable. Think “meh-TEH-sta-siz” but with clear /stæ/ in the stressed portion. Hear a reference in medical diction: audition of metastases in video tutorials and medical diction apps.
Common mistakes: 1) Misplacing the stress, saying /ˌmɛtəˈstaːzɪz/ or /ˌmɛtəˈstæsiːz/. 2) Slurring the /tæ/ sequence, producing /ˌmɛtəˈstæsɪz/ with reduced middle vowel. Correction: maintain the /ə/ in the first syllable, place clear /ˈstæ/ on the third syllable, and pronounce final /ɪz/ as a short, unstressed Schwa-like end: /ˌmɛtəˈstæsɪz/. Practice with minimal pairs: metastasis vs metastases to hear the plural stress pattern.
US: /ˌmɛtəˈstæsɪz/ with rhotic /r/ not involved; UK: /ˌmɛtəˈstæsɪz/ similar, sometimes vowels may be crisper; AU: /ˌmɛtəˈstæsɪz/, often with subtly broader vowels and less pronounced /ɪ/ in final; all share final -ses as /z/; rhoticity is not a factor here. Overall, primary stress remains on the third syllable across accents. Listening for subtle vowel length differences may help—US tends to be non-rhotic, UK varies by speaker, AU often lenient on final syllables.
Difficulties arise from the three-syllable pattern with a mid word boundary and the cluster /stæ/ in the stressed syllable, plus the final /ɪz/ sound that can blur in rapid speech. The plural ending /-ɪz/ contrasts with singular /-əs/ in closely related terms; keep the /æ/ in /stæs/ crisp and ensure the /s/ before it is released cleanly. Practice with slow, deliberate articulation to lock in the rhythm and avoid truncating the middle vowel.
The final 'es' in metastases is pronounced as /ɪz/ in careful, standard pronunciation, yielding /ˌmɛtəˈstæsɪz/. It is not /ˈmɛtæsiːz/ or /ˈmɛtæziːz/. The ending sounds like a short 'iz' and blends quickly with the preceding /s/—think ‘-stas-iz.’ In careful diction, hold a brief vowel in the final syllable so the /z/ voice is clear. In rapid medical speech, it often remains /-ɪz/ but can be less prominent.
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Metastases comes from the Greek meta- meaning ‘beyond, after’ and stasis meaning ‘a standing, stopping’ from hist- stasis or stat- meaning ‘to stand’ or ‘to stop.’ The term entered medical Latin in the late 19th to early 20th century as pathology formalized cancer spread. The plural metastases appears in contrast to metastasis (singular). Traditionally, physicians used metastases to describe several secondary tumor sites, while metastasis referred to the process or a single secondary lesion; both share the same Greek roots. The word evolved with expanding radiology and pathology techniques, enabling detection of multiple distant lesions. First known uses appear in medical texts around the late 1800s to early 1900s as cancer biology matured, and by mid-20th century it was standard terminology in oncology literature and clinical reports.
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Words that rhyme with "Metastases"
-ess sounds
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