Plush (noun) refers to a soft, luxurious fabric or texture, often with a velvety feel. It can describe items or surfaces that are richly comfortable and padded. In everyday use, plush conveys a sense of luxury, coziness, and abundance, as in plush furnishings or a plush toy; it may also describe deeply soft materials or surfaces in fashion and interiors.
"She bought a plush throw blanket to curl up with on the sofa."
"The hotel room featured plush carpets and velvet drapes that created a regal atmosphere."
"He collected plush toys from his travels as a nostalgic reminder of childhood."
"The theater seats were plush and inviting, making the long show comfortable."
Plush entered English in the 14th century via Old French peluche, derived from Late Latin pelexus, pelucus, meaning ‘fur, skin with hair’ or ‘soft fabric.’ The word evolved to describe fabrics with a long, soft pile—resembling fur—used in upholstery and garments. In Middle English, plush referred to a kind of heavy fabric with a nap or pile, often with a luxurious connotation associated with wealth and ornament. By the 19th and 20th centuries, plush extended beyond textiles to describe anything luxuriant or extravagant, such as plush furnishings or plush accommodations, reflecting its sense of indulgent softness. The modern usage retains the tactile emphasis on softness and opulence, while also appearing in idiomatic phrases like plush life or plush toys, where the quality is conveyed through texture and comfort. First known use in English literature surfaces in couplets and inventories describing fabrics with a rich nap, particularly in contexts of luxury goods and furnishings. In essence, plush embodies the intersection of tactile sensation and affluence, rooted in a history of sumptuous textiles that evoked fur-like warmth and comfort.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Plush" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Plush"
-ush sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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You pronounce it as /plʌʃ/. The initial /p/ is a light, bilabial plosive, followed by /l/ with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge. The vowel is /ʌ/ (the relaxed “uh” as in cup), then the final /ʃ/ is the voiceless postalveolar fricative, like the 'sh' in shoe. Keep the final /ʃ/ precise and unaspirated after the /ʌ/. If you’re listening, you’ll hear a short, even single-stress syllable with a clean stop release before the /l/ and a smooth /ʃ/ at the end.
Common errors include turning the /ʌ/ into a more closed vowel like /ɜ/ in some dialects, or adding extra vowel sounds before the /ʃ/ (like /plʌ-ɪʃ/). Another mistake is releasing the /p/ too forcefully, causing extra aspiration and a choppy transition to /l/. To correct: keep the /p/ light, glide into /l/ without detaching, maintain /ʌ/ as the lax ‘uh,’ and finish with a crisp /ʃ/ without adding vowel length. Practicing the sequence /p/ + /l/ + /ʌ/ + /ʃ/ with controlled speed helps flatten these habits.
In US, UK, and AU, /plʌʃ/ remains similar, but vowel quality can differ slightly. US accents often have a darker /ɹ/ influence only if followed by a vowel, so the standalone word stays straightforward: /plʌʃ/. UK and AU may exhibit subtler vowel timing; the /ʌ/ tends to be a bit more centralized and the /ʃ/ remains the same. Rhoticity doesn’t alter the word itself since there’s no r after it, but surrounding words can change the perceived vowel length in connected speech. Overall, the core is the same, with minor vowel height and length differences across regions.
The difficulty lies in balancing the stop at the start with a smooth transition into the liquid /l/ and finishing with the voiceless /ʃ/. People often mispronounce the /ʃ/ as /s/ or /tʃ/, or they insert an extra vowel (like /pləʃ/ or /pluʃ/) due to a misconception that there must be a vowel between /l/ and /ʃ/. Focus on keeping /p/ brief, slide into /l/ directly, maintain /ʌ/ as a lax, mid-central vowel, and end with a clean /ʃ/ without voicing changes. Practice slow, then normal pace to cement sequence.
Think of the final sound /ʃ/ as the steady, quiet ‘sh’ at the end of ‘she’ when you’re finishing the word. Your lips should form a gentle, rounded shape for the /ʃ/ and you should not release air with extra resonance. A good cue is to imagine you’re saying /plʌ/ quickly and then seal with /ʃ/ in a single, smooth release. This keeps the rhythm tight and avoids inserting a vowel before the final consonant.
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