rib-YOOKT
/ɹɪˈbjukt/
rebuked is pronounced rib-YOOKT (/ɹɪˈbjukt/). Rebuked is the past tense of rebuke: to express sharp disapproval or criticism of someone’s behavior. In context, it signals a forceful reprimand delivered, often by someone in authority. The word carries a formal, authoritative tone and is commonly found in writing and formal speech rather than casual conversation.
Rebuked is the past tense of rebuke: to express sharp disapproval or criticism of someone’s behavior. In context, it signals a forceful reprimand delivered, often by someone in authority. The word carries a formal, authoritative tone and is commonly found in writing and formal speech rather than casual conversation.
- Misplacing stress on the first syllable (ri-BUK-ed) instead of the second (ri-BYOOKT). - Treating /juː/ as separate short /u/ or as two syllables; instead, glide them as a single /juː/ syllable. - Releasing the final /t/ unevenly or adding an extra vowel after /t/; aim for a crisp /kt/ cluster. - Inattentive mouth shaping: keep lips rounded for /juː/ and avoid tensing the jaw during /kt/; practice with slow, then gradually faster enunciations.
"- The teacher rebuked the students for arriving late to class."
"- He was rebuked by the manager for failing to meet the deadline."
"- The editorial rebuked the policy as ineffective and unjust."
Pronounce as ri-BYOOKT with the primary stress on the second syllable: /rɪˈbjuːkt/ in US/UK/AU accents. Think ’re-’ as relaxed /rɪ/ then a stressed diphthong /ˈbjuː/ followed by /kt/. If you model the common 'you' sound, you’ll get the /juː/ cluster right, avoiding a separate 'ed' syllable. Audio references can be found in dictionaries and pronunciation platforms by searching 'rebuked pronunciation' in Cambridge/Oxford/Dictionaries.com and Forvo.
Common errors: misplacing the stress (speaking re-BUKED or re-behukt); mispronouncing the /juː/ as a simple /u/ or /ju/ as two syllables; ending with an aspirated /t/ rather than a clear /kt/. Correction: place primary stress on the second syllable /ˈbjuː/ and keep the /kt/ cluster at the end without extra vowel between /t/ and preceding /k/. Practice by saying ri- BYOOK-t with tight lip rounding on /juː/.
US/UK/AU all share /rɪˈbjuːkt/, but rhoticity affects the preceding /r/ in connected speech; Americans tend to keep the /r/ more vocalized than some UK varieties. Vowel quality of /juː/ can shift slightly: US accents may present a firmer /j/ onset and a higher prominence to /uː/, while British varieties may compress the /juː/ into a tighter gliding sound. Australian accents typically maintain a clear /juː/ with a crisp /kt/ ending, similar to UK but with lighter non-rhoticity in rapid speech.
The difficulty lies in the /ˈbjuː/ sequence: a tight, rounded front vowel with a strong y-glide into the long /uː/ and then a final consonant cluster /kt/. The combination of a stressed syllable with a consonant cluster at the end requires controlled timing to avoid an extra syllable or an intrusive vowel. Practicing the /juː/ as a single glide and keeping the /kt/ unreleased or lightly released helps create a natural, crisp ending.
In rapid speech, you might hear a reduced form where the /juː/ can sound like a brief /uː/ and the /kt/ becomes a single unreleased stop, yielding something closer to /rɪˈbuːkt/ or even /rɪˈbuːk/. However, this tends to occur only in casual, fast dialogue and may risk ambiguity with similar words. In careful speech, keep the full /ˈbjuːkt/ sequence to preserve clarity, especially in formal contexts.
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- US: emphasize non-rhotic? Actually US is rhotic; ensure the /r/ is pronounced before the vowel. Vowel: /ɪ/ in the initial syllable is reduced; the main effort goes to /ˈbjuːkt/. - UK: approximate non-rhotic? In many UK accents, final /r/ is not pronounced; focus on the /juː/ diphthong and crisp /kt/. - AU: similar to UK but with broader vowel qualities; maintain non-rhoticity and clear /juː/ glide. IPA reminders: /rɪˈbjuːkt/ (US), /rɪˈbjuːkt/ (UK), /rɪˈbjuːkt/ (AU). Use light lip rounding and a sharp palate contact for /k t/.
Rebuked derives from the verb rebuke, which comes from Middle English rebuken, from Old French rebouter or rebucher meaning to drive back or to rebuke, with uncertain ultimate Germanic roots. The core sense relates to driving back or restraining someone with disapproval. By the 14th century, rebuke carried the sense of sharp stern correction, often in response to misconduct. Over time, the noun and past participle forms developed in parallel with the verb, and by early modern English, rebuked was used both in narrative and formal exhortation to indicate a completed act of reproach. The root “rebuke” itself likely fused elements of re- (again/back) with a base meaning to blame or fault, aligning with similar Romance and Germanic verbs of reproach. First known uses appear in legal and moral discourse in medieval English, later expanding into literate prose and journalism as a precise term for stern censure.
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Words that rhyme with "rebuked"
-ked sounds
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