puh-LOO-tuhnt
/pəˈlutənt/
pollutant is pronounced puh-LOO-tuhnt (/pəˈlutənt/). Pollutant is a substance that contaminates air, water, or soil, often harmful to living organisms. In environmental science and policy, the term covers chemicals, particulates, and biological agents that degrade quality or pose health risks. The word is commonly used in technical and regulatory contexts, with emphasis on source, exposure, and impact assessment.
Pollutant is a substance that contaminates air, water, or soil, often harmful to living organisms. In environmental science and policy, the term covers chemicals, particulates, and biological agents that degrade quality or pose health risks. The word is commonly used in technical and regulatory contexts, with emphasis on source, exposure, and impact assessment.
- Be mindful of syllable stress: many learners place primary stress on the first syllable (PO-lu-tant). Practise with the rhythm po-LU-tant to fix timing. - Vowel quality in the second syllable: avoid a short /ʌ/ or /ə/; use a clear /luː/ as in 'food' to reflect the long vowel. - Ending cluster: /tən/ vs /tənt/. Don’t insert an extra vowel; aim for /tənt/ or a quick neutral /t/ followed by /ənt/ depending on speaker. - Difficulty with the /nt/ cluster after a vowel: ensure you articulate /t/ and /n/ cleanly without leaking into the following vowel. - In rapid speech, some speakers drop the first syllable slightly, but keep the stress on the second. Correction tips: practice with slow, then normal tempo, focusing on the strong /luː/ and crisp /t/ before /ənt/.
"The factory chimney released a pollutant that triggered a citywide air-quality alert."
"Scientists study how different pollutants interact and affect ecosystems over time."
"Regulators set limits on pollutants to protect public health and the environment."
Pronounce it po-LOO-tuhnt with primary stress on the second syllable: /pəˈluːtənt/. Start with a relaxed schwa in the first syllable, then a long 'oo' as in 'food', followed by a quick 't' and a soft 'uh' before the final 'nt'. IPA: US/UK/AU /pəˈluːtənt/.
Common errors: stressing the first syllable (po-LOO-tant is wrong); mispronouncing the middle vowel as a short 'u' or 'uh' instead of a long 'oo' (/luː/); or inserting an extra syllable like po-lu-u-tant. Correction: keep the middle vowel long /ˈluː/ and maintain the two-consonant cluster /t/ before ending /ənt/, so it sounds po-LU-tənt.
US/UK/AU share /pəˈluːtənt/ with rhoticity affecting the first syllable vowel in some speakers. US tends to a clearer rhotic schwa and finer vowel duration; UK often has a slightly shorter /ə/ and crisper /t/; AU may reduce the final /t/ in casual speech, sometimes sounding /pəˈluːdən/ or /pəˈluːtənt/ depending on formality.
The difficulty lies in the neutral-schwa first syllable, the long /uː/ vowel in the second syllable, and the /t/ followed by /ə/ and /nt/ cluster at the end. Balancing accurate stress (second syllable) with a smooth transition from /luː/ to /tənt/ requires careful timing and precise tongue position to avoid merging sounds or slurring the final consonant.
There are no silent letters; the pattern follows a typical English multisyllabic noun/adjective form: po-LOO-tant, with pronounced final 'nt'. The challenge is the mid syllable vowel length and maintaining two consonants before the final /nt/ (t + n) to avoid turning it into a simple 'polluten'.
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US: /pəˈluːtənt/ with rhotic influence and a clear /ə/ in the first syllable; the /luː/ is relatively long. UK: /pəˈluːtənt/ often with a slightly shorter /ə/ and less vowel reduction in connected speech; final /t/ may be crisper. AU: /pəˈluːtənt/ similar to US/UK, but casual speech can reduce the final /t/ or even flapping-like in very informal contexts; keep it audible. Common cross-dialect notes: maintain /ˈluː/ in the stressed syllable, avoid conflating /luː/ with /lʊ/; ensure the /t/ is released clearly before the following /ənt/. Use IPA reference: US /pəˈluːtənt/, UK /pəˈluːtənt/, AU /pəˈluːtənt/.
Pollutant comes from the French longobard loanword polluter, from polluer ‘to pollute’ (late Latin pollūtāre ‘to make dirty’) through Old French polluer, pollutor. The root poll-
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "pollutant" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "pollutant" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "pollutant"
-ant sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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