/ɹiˈmɛɹɪdʒ/
Say it backRemarriage refers to the act of marrying again after a divorce or the death of a spouse. It is a formal, legal- or socially recognized union that occurs after an earlier marriage has ended. The term is commonly used in discussions of family dynamics, demographics, and personal relationships.
"After her divorce, she began the process of remarriage."
"The census tracked remarriage rates among widowed individuals."
"Some cultures have unique rituals surrounding remarriage."
You say re-maRRI-age with the primary stress on the second syllable: /ˌriːˈmærɪdʒ/ in US and UK. Break it into re- (ree) + ma- (mar) + -riage (ij). The first syllable is unstressed or lightly stressed, the second bears the primary stress, and the final -age is pronounced as -ɪdʒ. Keep the vowel in ‘mar’ as a clear /æ/ and end with a voiced /dʒ/.
Common errors: 1) Misplacing stress on the first syllable (ree-MAR-riage) instead of the second; 2) Slurring the -riage to -ridge or -rich; 3) Vocalizing the /æ/ too much or too little, making it sound like ‘re-mar-riage’ instead of ‘ri-MAR-ij’. Correction: emphasize the second syllable with a crisp /æ/ then move quickly into /dʒ/ for the end. Practice with minimal pairs to lock the stress and vowel quality.
In US/UK/AU, the core pronunciation /ˌriːˈmærɪdʒ/ is similar, but rhoticity affects the initial /r/; US speakers clearly pronounce /r/ in all positions, while some UK accents may have a softer rhotic or non-rhotic influence depending on the region. The /æ/ in ‘mar’ can be shorter in some British vowels, and Australian English often has a more centralized /æ/ or a slightly closer /eə/ in certain speakers. The final /dʒ/ remains consistent across.
The challenge lies in the triplet of sounds: the unstressed initial /riː/ plus the stressed /ˈmær/ accompanied by the final /ɪdʒ/. The transition from a stressed /æ/ to the /dʒ/ requires precise tongue movement and a clean closure between the alveolar ridge and the palate. Additionally, the combination of a mid-front vowel with a voiceless-to-voiced consonant cluster at the end can provoke mispronunciation in fast speech.
A useful tip: treat it as three distinct segments re- + mar- + riage, with the stress on mar-. Practice slowly: /riː/ (ree) + /ˈmær/ (mah-r) + /ɪdʒ/ (ij). Visualize your mouth forming a wider jaw open for /æ/ then snap to /ɪ/ and end with /dʒ/. This helps you lock the rhythm and avoid blending into ‘remareg…’.
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Remarriage combines the prefix re- meaning again, with the word marriage, which itself derives from the Old French mariage, from Latin matrimonium (from mater ‘mother’ and Latin matrimonium ‘marital, of marriage’). The first element re- signals repetition or anew, first seen in Early Modern English formations around the 15th century, though the base concept of marrying again is older. The term remarriage appears in English texts by the 17th–18th centuries as legal and social discussions grew about remarriages after divorce or widowhood. Across time, remarriage has commonly signified a second marital union with similar legal, social, and ceremonial considerations as a first marriage, but sometimes accompanied by different expectations, religious considerations, or kinship dynamics as societies balanced evolving norms around divorce, widowhood, and blended families.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "remarriage" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "remarriage" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "remarriage"
-age sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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