/ɹiˈpilz/
Say it backRepeals refers to the act of revoking or invalidating laws, statutes, or regulations. In a legal or political context, it denotes the formal withdrawal of an existing rule through an official act. The term is used in discussions of legislation, governance, and judicial review. It typically appears in plural form when referencing multiple repeals or the process generally.
- You’ll confuse the stress by pausing before the second syllable; you should bump the second syllable with a strong beat to emphasize /ˈpiː/ rather than a mere secondary stress. - Vowel length: keep /iː/ long in the second syllable; don’t reduce to /i/ or /ɪ/. - Final consonant: ensure the /z/ is voiced; avoid ending with a voiceless /s/. - Work on the transition between second syllable and final /z/ to avoid an audible lag or a clipped /z/. - Practice in connected speech to avoid isolating the word. - Use slow repetition to cement the right mouth positions and airflow.
"The state legislature passed several repeals to modernize outdated statutes."
"Constitutional scholars debated the potential repeals of controversial federal regulations."
"The cabinet announced the repeals of several redundant rules after a government-wide review."
Pronounce it as ri-PEELZ in US and UK; Australian practice tends to maintain /riːˈpiːlz/ in careful speech but often sounds like ri-PEELZ in rapid speech. The primary stress is on the second syllable. Phonetically: /rɪˈpiːlz/ (US) vs /rɪˈpiːlz/ (UK) and /riːˈpiːlz/ (AU with a longer first vowel). Try to make the second syllable a long, tense diphthong in careful speech, ending with z. Audio references you can check: Cambridge, Oxford phonetic entries and Forvo entries for repeal plural forms.
Common mistakes: (1) Misplacing stress on the first syllable as RE-peals rather than ri-PEELS. (2) Shortening the second vowel to a lax /ɪ/ or schwa; preserve /iː/ or close to /iː/. (3) Final z devoicing in careful speech; you may emit a voiceless /s/ or an elongated /z/ if emphasizing. Correction: emphasize the second syllable with a clear /iː/ and end with a voiced /z/ by vibrating the vocal cords slightly. Consistent lip rounding and a relaxed jaw help keep the /iː/ intact.
Across accents, the core is /rɪˈpiːlz/ (US/UK) with slight vowel length differences: US often preserves the /ɪ/ in the first syllable before the stressed /iː/, while UK can have a marginally shorter /ɪ/ and crisper /l/; AU tends toward a longer, more centralized /iː/ in the second syllable and a slightly broader vowel in the first vowel cluster. Rhoticity is generally present in US and AU; UK may be less rhotic in some regional varieties, affecting the rhotic color on the initial /r/. Keep the second syllable tense and the final /l/ not too light.
The word challenges include maintaining stress on the second syllable under fast speech, sustaining a long, tense /iː/ in the second syllable, and producing the voiced final /z/ without turning it into /s/ or /tʃ/. The cluster /pil/ (as in peal) demands precise tongue height and lip rounding to avoid merging with /p/. Practice by isolating the second syllable and use minimal pairs to feel the difference between /iː/ and a shorter vowel. IPA anchoring: /rɪˈpiːlz/.
Think about how you distinguish plural noun endings in a legal context. Question: When you say “repeals” in careful legal narration, what is the exact mouth position for the final /z/ and how does it differ from a plural /s/? Answer: You voice the final consonant, keeping the tongue near the alveolar ridge, with the vocal cords vibrating; the preceding unvoiced /l/ should not interfere. The key is ensuring the /z/ is clearly voiced, not devoiced as /s/ which can change meaning in a policy context. IPA: /rɪˈpiːlz/.
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- US: rhotic, clear /ɹ/ with a flapped or approximant onset; second syllable gets primary stress; final /z/ is voiced and energized. - UK: often non-rhotic in many dialects, so the /r/ may be less audible; aim for /rɪˈpiːlz/ with a slightly less raised /ə/ in the first vowel; maintain the long /iː/ in the second syllable and a crisp /l/ before /z/. - AU: generally rhotic but with some vowel broadening; produce /riːˈpiːlz/ in careful speech; in casual speech, you may hear a more centralized first vowel in the first syllable. Use IPA references: /rɪˈpiːlz/, /riːˈpiːlz/.
Repeals comes from the verb repeal, formed in English from the combination of re- (again, back) and peal (a strange historical link to ‘appeal’ in law, but here it reflects the idea of peeling away or removing a law). The root word repeal traces back to Old French repeaille or repeller, with Latin influences in the sense of undoing or voiding. The modern sense — to revoke or annul a law or regulation — crystallized in early modern English as statutory language became more formalized in courts and parliaments. The plural form repeals is used when referring to multiple acts of repealing or the process generally. First known uses in English legal writing appear in legislative records from the 16th to 17th centuries, aligning with a growing corpus of codified statutes and the need to distinguish between enactment and revocation. Over time, the term broadened from strictly legal revocation to any act of undoing or reversing a rule or policy, though it remains most common in legal and governmental contexts. In contemporary usage, repeals often appear in analyses of regulatory reform and constitutional processes, sometimes in debates about the speed and scope of government changes. In print, you may see phrases like “repeals of prior statutes” or “repeals enacted,” reflecting its formal tone within policy discourse.
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Words that rhyme with "repeals"
-als sounds
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