rij-OYS
/ɹɪˈdʒɔɪs/
rejoice is pronounced rij-OYS (/ɹɪˈdʒɔɪs/). Rejoice is a verb meaning to feel or show great joy or delight, often publicly. It implies a strong, celebratory happiness and is commonly used in religious, festive, or formal contexts. In everyday speech, it can also appear as a poetic or elevated term for expressing personal elation.
Rejoice is a verb meaning to feel or show great joy or delight, often publicly. It implies a strong, celebratory happiness and is commonly used in religious, festive, or formal contexts. In everyday speech, it can also appear as a poetic or elevated term for expressing personal elation.
- You will often hear speakers flatten the /ɔɪ/ into a narrower vowel or split the syllable too slowly. To fix: practice a clean, quick /dʒ/ onset, then a tight /ɔɪ/ glide, with the /ɪ/ barely audible in the first syllable. - Misplacing the stress as re-JOISE vs. RE-joice, the latter can sound like emphasis on the prefix; keep stress on JOI- in JOICE. - Final /s/ sometimes becomes a voiceless hiss; ensure the syllable ends with a crisp, voiceless /s/ and not a lingering vowel. Practice with quick tempo to lock the pattern.
"The crowd rejoiced at the team's victory."
"We rejoiced to hear that the project had succeeded."
"Residents rejoiced when the floodwaters finally receded."
Pronounce as /rɪˈdʒɔɪs/. The syllables split as re- (unstressed) + joice (stressed). The /dʒ/ is like the j in judge, followed by the /ɔɪ/ diphthong (as in boy), ending with a clear /s/. Tip: keep the /ɔɪ/ nucleus crisp and avoid turning it into a simple /ɔ/; the /ɪ/ in the first syllable is a small, quick schwa-like sound. IPA reference: US/UK: /rɪˈdʒɔɪs/. Audio cues: the vowel starts mid-back then glides upward to /ɪ/ position before final /s/.
Two common errors: (1) Slurring the /dʒ/ into a simple /j/ or /dʒoɪ/ with an exaggerated glide. Correction: clearly segment /dʒ/ as a single palato-alveolar affricate followed by /ɔɪ/. (2) Mispronouncing the diphthong as a pure /ɔ/ or /ɑɪ/. Correction: articulate the transition from /ɔ/ to /ɪ/ in /ɔɪ/ smoothly, keeping the second element shorter than the first. Practice with minimal pairs to stabilize the diphthong.
In US/UK/AU, the primary difference lies in the rhoticity and vowel quality of the /ɔɪ/ diphthong. US tends to have a slightly rounded, tenser /ɔɪ/ with a more pronounced glide; UK often has a slightly closer /ɔɪ/ with less vowel height change; AU mirrors US tendencies but may show subtle vowel shifts in stressed syllables. Final /s/ is consistent, but linked intonation can differ in pitch, with US favoring a higher fall after the stressed syllable.
The difficulty stems from the /dʒ/ onset and the /ɔɪ/ diphthong, which require precise tongue position: place the blade of the tongue near the alveolar ridge for /dʒ/ and glide quickly from /ɔ/ to /ɪ/ without breaking into separate vowel sounds. Many speakers shorten /ɔɪ/ or mispronounce as /ɔ/ or /aɪ/. Keeping the palate high and the jaw relaxed helps produce the crisp /dʒ/ and a natural /ɔɪ/ glide.
A unique aspect is balancing the voiced alveolo-palatal affricate /dʒ/ with the diphthong /ɔɪ/. You should create a quick, tight release of /dʒ/ then immediately pull into the /ɔɪ/ glide without a hiatus. This keeps the syllable compact (re-JOICE) and preserves the word’s bright, celebratory tone. Visualize the burst of /dʒ/ being released into a smooth, rising diphthong.
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- US: /rɪˈdʒɔɪs/ with a robust /ɪ/ in the first syllable; rhotic accent keeps the /r/ initial; tension in the jaw is moderate. - UK: /rɪˈdʒɔɪs/ with slightly less vowel height in the diphthong, possibly a more centralized /ɔɪ/; non-rhotic standard. - AU: /rɪˈdʒɔɪs/ similar to US, but might feature a softer /r/ and slight vowel nasalization; keep the /dʒ/ crisp. Reference IPA for all: /rɪˈdʒɔɪs/; note /ɔɪ/ quality varies subtly by accent, not the basic pattern.
Rejoice originates from the Old French rejoisir, meaning to rejoice, render thankful, or lampoon; it derives from rejoisir, meaning to rejoin or unite with joy, which itself combines re- (again) + joindre (to join). The English form appeared by the 13th century, initially in religious and ceremonial contexts. Over time, its usage broadened beyond solemn rites to general expressions of happiness. The word’s core sense—experiencing or expressing joy—has remained remarkably stable through centuries, though modern usage includes both formal declarations (e.g., religious celebrations) and lighter, secular expressions of happiness in everyday speech. The stress pattern has remained penultimate (re-JOICE), reinforcing the celebratory connotation. First known usages appear in Middle English religious and poetic texts, with growth in the verb sense parallel to religious reformations and later broader literary adoption.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "rejoice" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "rejoice" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "rejoice"
-ice sounds
-ise sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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