/pəˈlutɪŋ/
Say it backPolluting is the act or process of introducing harmful substances or contaminants into air, water, or soil, or of making something impure. It can refer to emissions, waste disposal, or practices that degrade environmental quality. The term emphasizes ongoing or repeated action that worsens a environment’s cleanliness or safety.
"Factories polluting the river led to strict regulatory action."
"The company faced penalties for polluting nearby groundwater."
"Tourists argued that littering and trash burning are polluting the national park."
You say /pəˈluːtɪŋ/. Start with a schwa in the first syllable, then a stressed long /uː/ as in 'food', followed by /t/ and an unstressed /ɪŋ/ ending. The primary stress is on the second syllable: po-LU-ting. Lip rounding is mild for the /uː/; keep the tongue high and back, and release the /t/ with a light stop before the nasal /ŋ/. Audio references: Cambridge and Forvo offer native speaker recordings.
Two common errors: (1) Under-stressing the second syllable, saying po-LU-ting with weak emphasis; (2) Mispronouncing the /ˈluː/ as /ləː/ or as a short /u/; ensure the long /uː/ is maintained. Avoid replacing /t/ with a flapped or glottal stop in careful speech, and avoid adding extra syllables like ‘poll-u-ting’. Practice with minimal stress on the first syllable and clear release of /t/ before /ŋ/ to keep the word natural.
In US English, /pəˈluːtɪŋ/ has rhoticity in the first syllable and clear /t/; UK often maintains non-rhoticity, but /pəˈluːtɪŋ/ remains similar with slightly crisper /t/ and less rhotic vowel coloring. Australian English keeps the /ɪŋ/ ending but may reduce the vowel in the first syllable to a near-schwa. Across all, the stressed /uː/ remains long; the main variation is vowel quality and flapping tendencies in casual speech.
The difficulty centers on the long /uː/ in the stressed syllable and the /t/ preceding the nasal /ŋ/, which can blend in rapid speech. Non-native speakers often misplace stress, mispronounce the /uː/ as a short /ʊ/ or /ɜː/, or insert an extra vowel before /ŋ/. Maintain a precise tongue height for /uː/, keep the /t/ cleanly released, and avoid combining /t/ with /ŋ/ into a single sound. Clear phonemic awareness helps avoid common lapses.
Yes, you pronounce the /l/ in the second position after the initial /pə/. It’s not silent. The sequence is /pə/ + /ˈluː/ + /tɪŋ/. Ensure the /l/ is light but audible, with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge lightly to produce the clear /l/ before the long /uː/.
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Polluting comes from pollute, which originates in the Latin poluere, from poluere meaning to soil or stain. The root noun pollut- traces to the Latin pollutus, meaning stained or contaminated, from poluere. The English form pollute appeared in the early 14th century, initially meaning to contaminate or defile. By the 15th–16th centuries, polluting/emitting gradually took on more environmental connotations as industrialization intensified, with pollution becoming a common term in public discourse. The suffix -ing marks the present participle/gerund form, signaling ongoing action. Over time, polluting became a standard descriptor for processes that introduce unwanted substances into ecosystems, with regulatory language evolving to address sources like factories, waste disposal, and vehicle emissions. First known uses often appeared in legal and philosophical texts describing moral and physical defilement, but by the 20th century it gained heavy scientific and policy implications as concerns about air and water quality rose. Today, polluting is a central concept in environmental science and public policy, frequently paired with mitigation and remediation actions.
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Words that rhyme with "polluting"
-ing sounds
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