Ravine is a narrow, steep-sided valley formed by erosion, typically with a stream running through it. It is a smaller, often more rugged version of a canyon. As a noun, it refers to a landform that contrasts with flat plains or plateaus, and is commonly encountered in geographic descriptions and hiking guides.
"We hiked down into the ravine, where a mossy creek trickled along the bottom."
"The old map shows a winding ravine cutting through the hillside."
"A flood carved a new ravine after the heavy rain last spring."
"The trail skirted the edge of the ravine, offering a dramatic view of the valley below."
Ravine comes from the Old French ravine, from raviner ‘to hollow out, erase,’ from Latin rapere ‘to seize, snatch.’ The sense evolution moved from “to hollow out” to the landform name describing a deep, narrow valley. In Middle English, ravyn became ravyne, and by Early Modern English it acquired the modern spelling ravine. The word spread through geographic and travel literature as explorers described dramatic landscapes. It is cognate with related terms like ravine in other Romance languages, reflecting a shared concept of erosion-created valleys. The root in Latin (rapere) shifted in form as Old French adopted it, yielding the French ravine and English ravine with the sense anchored to a natural crevasse or gully. First known uses traceable to the 16th century English geographic writings, with earlier Latin and French forms appearing in scholastic and exploratory texts that described physical terrain features. The overall trajectory shows a stable meaning tied to erosion-formed landscapes, occasionally used metaphorically to describe something deeply entrenched or cut away, but primarily preserved for geographic description and geology contexts.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Ravine" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Ravine" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Ravine"
-ine sounds
-ein sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Ravine is pronounced /rəˈviːn/. The first syllable is unstressed with a schwa or /ɚ/ sound, then the main stress falls on the second syllable: /ˈviːn/. So you say ruh-VEEN, with the vowel in the second syllable being a long ee and a clean final n. Picture your tongue slightly relaxed for /rə/ and lift into a tight, elongated /viːn/ for the stressed syllable. Audio resources can help lock in the rhythm and vowel length.
Common mistakes include stressing the first syllable as in 'RAH-veen' or compressing the second syllable so it sounds like /viən/ or /viːn/ with a short vowel. The correct pattern is unstressed /rə/ followed by a strong /ˈviːn/. To fix, practice a brief pause or signal before the stressed syllable and elongate the /iː/ for the second syllable, ensuring the final /n/ is clear.
In US/UK/AU accents, the core is /rəˈviːn/. The difference lies in rhoticity and vowel quality: US tends to maintain /ə/ in the first syllable and a clear /viːn/; UK can reduce the first syllable slightly more and may have a slightly shorter /iː/ depending on speaker; Australian often merges some schwa quality with a more centralized /ə/ in casual speech while keeping /ˈviːn/ intact. Overall, the second syllable remains stressed and vowel length is prominent across varieties.
The challenge is the unstressed first syllable /rə/ blending into a clearly stressed /ˈviːn/. The long vowel /iː/ in the second syllable requires careful lip spread and jaw height to avoid a shorter, lax /i/ sound. Additionally, the final /n/ must be unobtrusive but precise; letting the tongue drop too early or nasalizing the vowel can blur the final consonant. Focus on the rhythm: soft, quick first syllable, strong, elongated second syllable.
A key nuance is maintaining the long /iː/ in the second syllable while keeping the first syllable relaxed. In connected speech, you may hear slight assimilation where the /r/ in /rə/ can become lighter or even almost schwa-like before the /ˈviːn/. Ensure you pronounce the entire /ˈviːn/ clearly, separating it from possible following consonants in fast speech. The unique focus is the contrast between the weak first syllable and the strong second syllable.
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