ree-in-STAYT
/ˌɹiɪnˈsteɪt/
reinstate is pronounced ree-in-STAYT (/ˌɹiɪnˈsteɪt/). Reinstate is a verb meaning to restore someone or something to a former position, status, or condition. It implies undoing a prior removal or interruption and putting back into effect or into a previous role, policy, or state. The term often appears in legal, organizational, or administrative contexts where authority, privileges, or features are resumed after being halted or suspended.
Reinstate is a verb meaning to restore someone or something to a former position, status, or condition. It implies undoing a prior removal or interruption and putting back into effect or into a previous role, policy, or state. The term often appears in legal, organizational, or administrative contexts where authority, privileges, or features are resumed after being halted or suspended.
- You may insert an extra vowel before /st/ (e.g., /riː.ɪn.ˈsteɪt/). Keep /ɪn/ tight and move directly into /st/. - Another error is misplacing the primary stress on /riː/ instead of /steɪt/. Practice with claps marking syllables to feel rhythm. - People sometimes voice the /t/ softly or omit it in rapid speech; ensure final /t/ is released clearly. - Avoid making /riː/ too short; lengthen it as a lead-in without drawing out the middle vowel. Correct by slow drills and recording.
"The company decided to reinstate the employee after a formal review."
"The court issued an order to reinstate the former rules that had been suspended."
"After the outage, engineers worked to reinstate service as quickly as possible."
You pronounce it as /ˌriː.ɪnˈsteɪt/. The primary stress is on the final syllable 'state', with a secondary stress on the first part 're-ɪn'. The first two syllables form /riː.ɪn/ like 'ree-in', followed by /ˈsteɪt/ as in 'stait'. In connected speech, you may hear a slight tie or reduced vowel in 're-ɪn', but keep /riːɪn/ clear before the stressed /steɪt/.
Common errors include stressing the wrong syllable (putting main stress on 're' instead of 'state'), merging /ɪn/ and /st/ into an unclear cluster, and over-pronouncing the middle vowel as a full separate schwa. Correct by keeping /riː/ as a clear, long vowel, placing primary stress on /steɪt/, and producing /ɪn/ lightly as a quick bridge to /st/. Practice with slow, deliberate articulation before speeding up.
In US, UK, and AU accents, the primary stress remains on the final syllable /ˈsteɪt/ with a secondary /riː.ɪn/ lead-in. The main differences lie in Vowel quality: US may have a slightly longer /iː/ and more rhoticity in connected speech; UK tends to keep clearer vowel separation with slightly reduced rhotics in non-rhotic contexts; AU often shows vowel shifts toward a flatter /æ/ in some speakers but generally preserves /iː/ and /eɪ/. Overall, rhoticity doesn’t change the core rhythm; focus on final /steɪt/.
It challenges non-native speakers because of the sequence /riː.ɪnˈsteɪt/: you must maintain two distinct vowel sounds before the final stressed syllable and deliver a clean /steɪt/ without swallowing the t. The middle /ɪn/ should be brief and link smoothly to /st/. The final /eɪ/ diphthong requires accurate gliding from /e/ to /ɪ/ and finishing with a crisp /t/. Mastery comes from slow practice and careful mouth positioning.
The word has a clear three-syllable rhythm with secondary stress on the first part and primary stress on the last syllable. The most distinctive feature is the final /eɪt/ (state) where the /eɪ/ is a prominent diphthong closing with a voiceless alveolar stop /t/. Pay attention to keeping /st/ as a crisp cluster rather than blending it with the preceding /n/.
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- US: emphasize rhotic rhythm; the /r/ sound is pronounced before the vowel cluster; long /iː/ can be held slightly longer, and ensure a strong /steɪt/ with crisp /t/. - UK: non-rhotic tendency; maintain clear /riː.ɪn/ followed by a confident /steɪt/ but without overly pronouncing the /r/; the /t/ at the end remains unreleased or lightly released in some dialects. - AU: similar to UK in rhoticity but with slightly more fronted vowels; keep /iː/ and /eɪ/ distinct; avoid aggressive /t/ release in rapid speech. IPA references: /ˌriː.ɪnˈsteɪt/.
Reinstate comes from the prefix re- (again) + state, ultimately from Latin status. The form reinstate first appears in English in the late 17th to early 18th century, influenced by legal and administrative language. The semantic core centers on restoring a prior state or condition that had been altered or removed. The prefix re- signals repetition or return, while state (from Latin status) conveys a condition, position, or standing. Over time, reinstate broadened beyond legal contexts to general usage in governance, employment, and policy discussions. The word often pairs with nouns like person, policy, rule, or service, underscoring the action of lifting suspension or returning to an earlier framework. First known uses appear in formal records and statutes, with later adoption into everyday business and organizational discourse as departments and systems routinely reference reinstatement after reviews or outages.
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Words that rhyme with "reinstate"
-ain sounds
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