/ˈɹʌnəˌweɪ/
Say it backRunaway is a noun or adjective describing someone or something that leaves or escapes suddenly, often to avoid control or danger. As a compound, it also refers to a person who has fled from home or authority. In modern use, it can denote something out of control, such as a runaway train or runaway inflation, emphasizing rapid, unrestrained movement.
- Common Mistake 1: Underemphasizing the primary stress on RUN, making it sound like a flat 'run-away' with equal stress. Correction: emphasize /ˈrʌn/ and then lightly stress the second part. - Common Mistake 2: Merging the second diphthong (/eɪ.weɪ/) into a single glide or damming it into /weɪ/; correction: keep /eɪ/ clearly formed before gliding to /weɪ/. - Common Mistake 3: Reducing the middle consonant or pronouncing /n/ as a nasal murmur; correction: produce a crisp alveolar /n/ with full release before the /eɪ/. - You’ll often hear learners shorten the word to ‘run-ə-way’; correction: keep two syllables with separate timing: RUN-ə-WAY vs RUN-away depending on context. Practice with slow repeats and then gradually speed up while maintaining the two-part rhythm.
"The runaway horse bolted from the corral before anyone could react."
"Authorities are tracing a runaway child who disappeared last night."
"The runaway inflation rate has raised concerns about the cost of living."
Runaway is pronounced /ˈrʌnˌeɪ.weɪ/ in US/UK/AU varieties. The primary stress falls on RUN (ˈrʌn). The second element, -away, is itself a two-syllable sequence with a secondary stress on the first sub-syllable: /ˈeɪ.weɪ/. Start with a clear /r/ followed by /ʌ/ (as in 'cut'), then release into /n/. Then move to /eɪ/ (the 'ay' as in 'say') and glide into /weɪ/ (the /w/ plus /eɪ/). Keep the /eɪ/ diphthong distinct and avoid merging it with /ʌn/. Mouth position: lips neutral, tongue relaxed for /ʌ/, then tip of tongue near the alveolar ridge for /n/, then a wide mouth for /eɪ/ and a light /w/ onset into /eɪ/. Audio reference: you can hear the pronunciation on Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries, Forvo, or YouGlish with user search 'runaway pronunciation'.
Two common mistakes: (1) Misplacing stress by saying RUN-AWAY with even stress; correct approach keeps primary stress on RUN and a lighter, secondary rhythm on away, producing /ˈrʌnˌeɪ.weɪ/. (2) Merging /eɪ/ and /w/ into a single glide or mispronouncing the second syllable as /əweɪ/; instead keep /eɪ/ clearly formed, then glide to /weɪ/. Practice by isolating the middle /eɪ/ using a slow tempo, then connect to /weɪ/. These errors reduce clarity, especially in rapid speech. 3–4 repeats at a deliberate pace helps fix the pattern.
Across US, UK, and AU, the word remains /ˈrʌnˌeɪ.weɪ/ or /ˈrənˌeɪ.weɪ/ with minimal vowel quality shifts, but there are notable differences: US tends to have a rhotic /ɹ/ with clearer /ɪ/ in 'run' sound and slightly more open /æ/ in some speakers; UK often preserves a tighter /ʌ/ and a shorter /ɪ/ vowel quality in connected speech; Australian tends to a more centralized /ɐ/ or /ʌ/ with a flatter intonation and a tending toward non-rhotic or weak rhoticity in casual speech. The second syllable /eɪ.weɪ/ remains a diphthong but can be realized with a more open /eɪ/ in US and AU. Important: keep the /n/ crisp in US and AU; in some UK speech the /n/ may be slightly alveolar with less air pressure. Use IPA as reference and listen to native samples for context.
The difficulty lies in the multi-syllabic structure with a strong initial stress followed by a secondary stress on a separate syllable, plus a compound diphthong sequence. The /ˈrʌn/ cluster requires accurate alveolar nasal release, while the /eɪ.weɪ/ segment demands a clean separation of the two diphthongs and precise linking. Learners often misplace the second diphthong or merge it with the first, producing /ˈrʊnˌweɪ/ or /ˈrʌnˈeɪweɪ/. Practicing with careful tongue positioning and tempo helps distinguish the two parts.
A unique aspect is the two-part stress pattern within a compound-like structure: primary stress on RUN, followed by a secondary stress or prominent onset on AWAY via the /eɪ.weɪ/ sequence. This can feel like a slight pitch rise between syllables, which is important for clarity when used in longer phrases (e.g., runaway train). It also involves maintaining crisp /n/ before the diphthong and avoiding a reduction that would blur the boundary between the two main elements. Pronounce distinctly to preserve the compound feel.
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- US: rhotic, clearer /ɹ/; /ʌ/ as in 'cup', slightly broader /æ/ in some speakers; maintain a distinct /n/ before the diphthongs. - UK: non-rhotic or weak rhoticity; softer vowel quality, more clipped /ɒ/ or /ʌ/ depending on region; keep /eɪ/ precise and avoid vowel lengthening that blurs diphthongs. - AU: more centralized vowel qualities; flatter intonation; /ˈræn/ or /ˈrʌn/; ensure the second diphthong retains a bright /eɪ/ and a glide into /weɪ/. Use IPA to confirm differences in vowel height and lip rounding; practice with USA/UK/AU samples to internalize.
Runaway is a compound word in English formed from run + away. The verb run traces to Old English recian, with Germanic roots in runnan and run, evolving through Middle English to indicate rapid movement on foot or by other means. The adjective sense of runaway as 'escaping or fleeing' emerged in the 17th–18th centuries, coinciding with the social and legal contexts of truancy, fugitives, and escaped animals. The noun/adjective pairing gained traction in American and British usage as industrialization increased concerns about escaped workers, runaway horses, and unrestrained phenomena (like runaway prices). Its semantic extension to non-literal intensification—something uncontrolled or excessive—developed in the 19th and 20th centuries, as metaphorical language adopted runaway to describe rapid, unchecked trends (e.g., runaway growth, runaway inflation). First known print attestations appear in early modern English legal and travel records, with the term gradually standardizing in contemporary dictionaries by the 1800s. Modern usage commonly presents as both a noun and an adjective, sometimes in hyphenated forms (run-away) in older texts, though the closed form “runaway” is now the norm.
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Words that rhyme with "runaway"
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