2 syllables: non, suit. Stress on non.
NAHN-soot
/ˈnɑn.suːt/
nonsuit is pronounced NAHN-soot (/ˈnɑn.suːt/). It has two syllables (non-suit), with the stress on "non". Nonsuit is a legal term meaning to dismiss a case or claim, typically without a trial, or to refuse to proceed further with a suit. It can also refer to a formal notice of the voluntary dismissal of a legal action. In everyday usage, it signals a judgment or action that ends litigation, often after a complaint has been filed but before trial. The pronunciation remains consistent across contexts.
Nonsuit is a legal term meaning to dismiss a case or claim, typically without a trial, or to refuse to proceed further with a suit. It can also refer to a formal notice of the voluntary dismissal of a legal action. In everyday usage, it signals a judgment or action that ends litigation, often after a complaint has been filed but before trial. The pronunciation remains consistent across contexts.
- Common Mistake 1: Slurring the second syllable into a short “sit” or “suit” without the long /uː/. Fix: hold the /uː/ length, avoid reducing the vowel. - Common Mistake 2: Misplacing stress, sounding like non-SUIT or nON-suit; fix by ensuring primary stress on first syllable and crisp secondary onset on second. - Common Mistake 3: Weak final /t/ or a silent -t in rapid speech; fix by finishing with a clean /t/ as a release burst. - Tip: Practice with a deliberate pause between syllables: /ˈnɒn/ /suːt/; then blend until natural. Use minimal pairs like “nun / non/” and “suit” to anchor the long vowel; record and compare to native samples.
"The plaintiff filed a motion, and the judge granted a nonsuit."
"After new evidence emerged, the prosecutor sought a nonsuit to avoid trial."
"The defendant moved for nonsuit on the grounds that the evidence failed to establish a prima facie case."
A: Pronounce as NON-soot, with primary stress on the first syllable. IPA: US /ˈnɒnˌsuːt/; UK /ˈnɒnˌsjuːt/; AU /ˈnɒnˌsjuːt/. The second syllable starts with an s and merges into a long u sound. Keep the final -t crisp. One smooth transition: /nɒn/ + /suːt/. Practically: say “non” quickly, then “suits” without adding an extra syllable—almost like “non-smooth” but with a /suːt/ instead of /smuː/. Audio reference: you can listen to native uses on Forvo or YouGlish by searching “nonsuit.”
Two common errors: 1) turning the second syllable into a short /sɪt/ or /sɪt/ instead of the long /suːt/, and 2) misplacing stress, saying nuN-SUIT with the stress on the second syllable. Correction: keep /suːt/ as a long, tense vowel and ensure the primary stress sits on /nɒn/—so ‘NON-suit’ with first-syllable emphasis. For clarity, practice by dividing into /ˈnɒn/ and /suːt/ and linking them with a light pause if needed. Listening to native examples helps—focus on the long /uː/ in the second syllable.
In US English, /ˈnɒnˌsuːt/ features a broad /ɒ/ in the first syllable and a clean /suːt/ second syllable. UK English often renders the second syllable with /juː/ as in /ˈnɒnˌsjuːt/, where the /j/ sound is more evident and the /uː/ is a long vowel after a /s/. Australian tends to align with UK for the second syllable, but with a slightly more centralized vowel quality and a non-rhotic rhythm in connected speech. In all variants, the final /t/ is crisp; watch for flapping in US when in connected speech, which can blur /t/ to a tap.
The difficulty lies in the swift transition from the alveolar /n/ to the postalveolar /s/ then into a long /uː/ vowel, plus keeping the final /t/ precise in fluent speech. The cluster between /n/ and /s/ can cause a slight nasalized or vowel-dip transition if you rush. Also, the second syllable’s /suːt/ requires lip rounding and jaw closure that may feel unfamiliar if you’re not training long vowels. Focused practice with minimal pairs will stabilize both syllables and the boundary between them.
The word’s distinct feature is the phoneme sequence /nɒn sjuːt/ in many British varieties, where the second syllable often presents a palatalized /sjuː/ cluster that sounds like /sjuːt/. In American speech, that /sjuː/ tends to be realized as /suː/ with a smoother glide from /nɒn/ to /suːt/. Visualize the second syllable as ‘s-kyoo-t’ without a separate /k/—the /j/ is part of the /sjuː/ sequence rather than an independent consonant.
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- US: Expect rhoticity in associated phrases; keep /nɒn/ unaffected by r-colouring. The /t/ should be aspirated in initial-stressed contexts. - UK: The second syllable often carries a subtle /j/ offglide (/sjuː/). Maintain the /j/ sound lightly; the /uː/ is pure and long. - AU: Similar to UK but with slightly flatter vowel quality; keep the glide tight and avoid drawing the /j/ out. Practice distinguishing /nɒn/ vs /nɔːn/ in overlapping contexts. IPA references: US /ˈnɒnˌsuːt/, UK /ˈnɒnˌsjuːt/, AU /ˈnɒnˌsjuːt/.
Nonsuit originates in legal English, combining the prefix non- (not) with suit (a lawsuit). The term arose in the medieval and early modern periods as courts formalized procedures for dismissals or withdrawals of actions. Early references show nonsuit used to describe a dismissal by the plaintiff or the court before a verdict was reached. The precise rules around nonsuit, including when and how it can be entered, evolved through common law and statutory reform, with many jurisdictions codifying requirements in civil procedure texts. The word suit itself comes from Old French soute, related to suiter meaning to pursue or sue, ultimately tracing to Latin suitus from succurrere. By the 19th and 20th centuries, nonsuit had become a standard term in appellate and trial practice, widely understood in common-law jurisdictions as a mechanism to end a case without a final judgment on the merits. First known uses appear in English legal writings of the 16th to 18th centuries, with consistent usage by the 1800s in both procedural manuals and case reporters. In modern practice, nonsuit is a procedural action that terminates a case without a determination of the facts, often to permit refiling later or to reflect a failure to establish a prima facie case at trial or on move.
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Words that rhyme with "nonsuit"
-oot sounds
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