One syllable: Ought.
awt
/ɔt/
Ought is pronounced awt (/ɔt/). It has one syllable (Ought), with the stress on "Ought". Ought is a modal verb used to express duty, obligation, or advisability, often indicating what is morally right or what is expected under certain circumstances. It can also imply probability or likelihood in some contexts. In pronunciation, it is a short, discreet vowel sound that blends with a soft consonant, making the word appear lighter than other modals like should or would.
verbOught is a modal verb used to express duty, obligation, or advisability, often indicating what is morally right or what is expected under certain circumstances. It can also imply probability or likelihood in some contexts. In pronunciation, it is a short, discreet vowel sound that blends with a soft consonant, making the word appear lighter than other modals like should or would.
"You ought to see a doctor about that cough."
"If you finish your homework, you ought to be rewarded."
"That bird ought to have flown by now."
Ought is pronounced /ɔːt/ in most varieties, a single stressed syllable with a long open-mid back vowel followed by a voiceless t. Start with an open jaw and a rounded, relaxed lips position for /ɔː/, then quickly release into /t/. In rapid speech, the vowel can be shorter and the t softened slightly in non-rhotic accents. IPA: US /ɔːt/, UK /ɔːt/, AU /ɔːt/; stress is on the single syllable.
Common errors include treating /ɔː/ as a short /ɒ/ or misplacing the tongue, producing a clipped or diphthongized vowel like /aʊ/ or /ɔɪ/. Another mistake is voicing the final /t/ (producing a d-like sound) when it should be voiceless. To correct: keep the mouth rounded and jaw relaxed for the /ɔː/ vowel, and finish with a clean, unvoiced /t/ by releasing air with a light stop at the tongue-tip contact.
In US, UK, and AU, the core vowel remains /ɔː/, but rhoticity can affect perceived quality. US speakers may have a more rounded /ɔː/ and a slightly longer vowel in careful speech, while UK often presents a crisper /ɔː/ with a shorter, tighter vowel in rapid speech. Australian tends toward a more centralized quality, sometimes approaching /ɒː/ or a broader /ɔː/ depending on region. The /t/ remains voiceless in all, but flapping in some US dialects may alter its perceived end. IPA: /ɔːt/ across all, with subtle vowel shifts.
The challenge lies in the lax, clipped vowel and the voiceless alveolar stop following it. The /ɔː/ vowel can be misarticulated as /ɒ/ or /ɑː/ in some dialects, changing meaning or naturalness. Keeping the mouth rounded and the tongue low and back helps. The /t/ must be crisp and unvoiced; in fast speech, it can become a light stop or be replaced by a glottal stop in some dialects, which can feel like you’re skipping the final consonant.
In Ought, the “gh” isn’t a separate consonant; it’s the historical letter combination representing a single, voiceless /t/ after the /ɔː/ vowel. There’s no /g/ or /h/ sound to articulate in modern pronunciation. The word is a single-syllable unit: /ɔːt/. The letters are a historical artifact from the word’s evolution, not a separate phonetic segment to pronounce.
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Ought originates from Old English agohte or aȝoht, formed from the obsolete verb agēowan meaning 'to owe, be obliged.' It reflects obligation, duty, and expectation. The word evolved through Middle English as oghte and åghte, maintaining the sense of normative expectation rather than a hard command. Its semantic breadth broadened to include moral duty and advisability, while phonologically it shifted toward the modern /ɔː/ or /ɔːt/ vowel in many dialects. First attested texts appear in Old and Middle English, with the form ओght appearing in early glosses. Over time, the pronunciation simplified in many varieties, especially in non-rhotic accents, aligning with a short vowel before a t consonant and often assimilating to a near-diphthongic ending in rapid speech in some dialects.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Ought" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Ought" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Ought"
-ght sounds
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