2 syllables: Pos, ture. Stress on Pos.
PAHS-chur
/ˈpɑstʃɚ/
Posture is pronounced PAHS-chur (/ˈpɑstʃɚ/). It has two syllables (Pos-ture), with the stress on "Pos". Posture refers to the position in which someone holds their body, typically described in terms of alignment of the spine, head, and limbs. It reflects balance, comfort, and efficiency of movement, and can influence breathing, appearance, and physical health. In everyday use, posture also denotes a figurative stance or attitude toward a situation.
nounPosture refers to the position in which someone holds their body, typically described in terms of alignment of the spine, head, and limbs. It reflects balance, comfort, and efficiency of movement, and can influence breathing, appearance, and physical health. In everyday use, posture also denotes a figurative stance or attitude toward a situation.
"Good posture can reduce back pain and improve breathing during long workdays."
"She sat with perfect posture during the presentation, which helped convey confidence."
"Poor posture over years can lead to chronic neck and shoulder strain."
Posture is pronounced /ˈpɒs.tʃə/ in UK English or /ˈpɑːs.tʃɚ/ in US English. The primary stress is on the first syllable. Start with the /p/ burst, then the /ɒ/ or /ɑː/ vowel, followed by the /s/ and the /tʃ/ blend (like ‘church’) leading into a schwa or rhotacized ending in US English. In American speech you’ll hear a final light /ɚ/. Bring your lips into a rounded but relaxed position for the /ɒ/ or /ɑː/, and finish with a soft, quick /ə/ or /ɚ/.
Common mistakes include pronouncing the second syllable as a stressed or full vowel, saying ‘pos-ture’ with an explicit /juː/ or misarticulating the /tʃ/ as a simple /t/ or /ʃ/. To correct: ensure the /tʃ/ blend is produced with a light release immediately after the /s/, like ‘pos-chure,’ and reduce the second syllable to a clipped /ə/ (US) or /ə/ (UK) avoiding an extra vowel. Keep the first syllable compact: /ˈpɒs/ rather than /ˈpoʊs/.
US: /ˈpɑːstʃɚ/ or /ˈpɑːs.tʃɚ/ with rhotic ending; final syllable reduced to /ɚ/. UK: /ˈpɒst.jə/ or /ˈpɒs.tʃə/, with less rhoticity and a shorter second vowel; AU: /ˈpɒst.jə/ or /ˈpɒs.tʃə/, similar to UK but with Australian vowel quality. The key differences are the vowel height in the first syllable (US /ɑː/ or /ɒ/ in UK/AU) and whether the final vowel is pronounced as a rhotic /ɚ/ or a reduced /ə/.
The difficulty centers on the /tʃ/ cluster after the /s/, which requires a precise release: you move from /s/ to /t͡ʃ/ with a quick transition and not an intrusive vowel. Additionally, the second syllable uses a reduced vowel that can be mispronounced as /uː/ or /juː/ if you over-articulate. Practicing the /t͡ʃ/ blend in a quick, clean lift and training the tongue to stay low and relaxed for the schwa helps.
A unique feature is the strong, immediate /t͡ʃ/ blend after the /s/. Unlike many similar words, posture maintains a clear, unvoiced onset for the second syllable’s /t͡ʃ/ and a reduced vowel in the second syllable, commonly a schwa or a rhotacized vowel in US. The contrast between the tense first syllable /pɒ/ or /pɑː/ and the lighter second syllable is a key search-query phrase for this term.
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Posture comes from the Old French posteror ‘to place, to place before,’ from Latin positura, from ponere ‘to place.’ In English, posture originally meant a placing or position of the body, later narrowing to the way one holds and aligns the body. The suffix -ture derives from Latin -tura, indicating a state or condition resulting from an action. The word entered English in the late Middle Ages, preserving the sense of arrangement or disposition of the body. Over centuries, posture broadened beyond physical stance to include figurative meanings, such as a person’s stance in social or moral issues. By the modern period, posture had a well-established medical and ergonomic usage referring to spinal alignment and static/body carriage, while also retaining common usage in performance, etiquette, and self-presentation contexts.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Posture" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Posture"
-ure sounds
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