4 syllables: Re, sil, i, ence. Stress on sil.
riz-IL-ee-uhns
/ɹɪˈzɪliəns/
Resilience is pronounced riz-IL-ee-uhns (/ɹɪˈzɪliəns/). It has four syllables (Re-sil-i-ence), with the stress on "sil". Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, adversity, or trauma. It also refers to the ability of a material to spring back into shape after bending or stretching. In psychology, it encompasses effective coping, persistence, and adaptability in the face of stress. (2–4 sentences, ~60–70 words).
nounResilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, adversity, or trauma. It also refers to the ability of a material to spring back into shape after bending or stretching. In psychology, it encompasses effective coping, persistence, and adaptability in the face of stress. (2–4 sentences, ~60–70 words)
How to Pronounce Resilience
"Her resilience helped her bounce back after the setback."
"The rubber’s resilience makes it ideal for vibration-damping parts."
"Community resilience strengthens local networks after natural disasters."
Pronounce it as /rɪˈzɪl.i.əns/ in US and UK English, four syllables. Primary stress on the second syllable: re-SIL-i-ence. Start with a quick /r/ with relaxed tongue, then /ɪ/ as in “kit,” then /ˈzɪl/ with the z as in “zoo” and the short i, then /iə/ or /i.ə/ as a glide into /əns/ at the end. Practicing the sequence: r-ih-zih-l-yuhns, keeping the final /ns/ clear. For an audio reference, compare to typical American dictionary pronunciations: /rɪˈzɪl.i.əns/.
Common errors: 1) Stress misplacement, saying re- zi-LI-ence with wrong syllable emphasis; correction: place primary stress on SIL: /rɪˈzɪl.i.əns/. 2) Vowel reduction in the first syllable: avoid a long /riː/ or /ˈriː/ unless very careful; use /rɪ/ as in “rim.” 3) Ending consonant blending: don’t drop the final /ns/; ensure /n/ before /s/ is audible. Practice with minimal pairs like “resilience” vs “reliance” to anchor the mid vowels and final cluster. By emphasizing the second syllable and the final cluster, you keep the word intelligible and natural.”
US: /rɪˈzɪl.i.əns/ with rhotic r, mid-to-short vowels; UK: /rɪˈzɪl.i.əns/, similar but with non-rhotic-like tendencies in careful speech; AU: /rɪˈzɪl.i.əns/ often with broader vowel quality; all share the -li- syllable; differences are subtle: US may have a slightly tighter /ɪ/ and clearer /əns/; UK may show slight vowel length variation; Australian tends to a flatter intonation and can reduce the /i/ to a near-schwa in connected speech. All use primary stress on SIL: re-SIL-i-ence, four syllables.
Because it combines a stressed mid-syllable with a quick, light final /əns/ cluster and a tricky /z/ before /l/. The sequence /z/ + /l/ can be challenging if you anticipate the /l/ or misplace the tongue. The vowel in the first two syllables is short /ɪ/, which in fast speech can reduce toward a near-schwa; maintaining crisp /z/ and a clear /l/ in the 3rd syllable helps. Finally, the /ə/ before /ns/ is subtle and often swallowed in casual speech. Practice focusing on the middle four-phoneme core: /ˈzɪl.i/ with an energetic /z/.”
In standard American, the first strong vowel in re-SIL-i-ence is the short /ɪ/ in the second syllable, not a long /i:/. The sequence commonly uses /rɪˈzɪl.i.əns/: the first vowel appears as /ɪ/ in the unstressed position? Actually the first syllable is /rɪ/; the second is /ˈzɪl/. So the short /ɪ/ occurs in both first and second syllables, producing the rhythm /rɪ-ˈzɪl/. It may sound like 'rih-ZIL-yuhns' in rapid speech. The important point is to keep the second syllable stressed and crisp.
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Resilience comes from French resilience, from Old French rescile(n)ce, from the Latin resiliēns, present participle of resilīre ‘to rebound, leap back.’ The root res-, ‘back, again’ combined with salīre, ‘to leap, spring.’ The word entered English via 17th–18th century technical senses related to elasticity; by the 19th century it broadened to psychological and social domains, denoting the ability to recover from hardship. Its semantic journey tracks from physical material property to psychological fortitude, medieval and early modern theories of moral force, and then to modern contexts of disaster recovery, stress adaptation, and systemic robustness. First known use in English can be traced to scientific or medical writings discussing elasticity and resilience in materials, later adopted by psychologists and social scientists to describe human adaptation and community strength.
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Words that rhyme with "Resilience"
-ce? sounds
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