stil
/stɪl/
still is pronounced stil (/stɪl/). Still denotes a lack of movement or change, or indicates a lingering state. It also serves as an adverb to describe continuity up to now, or as a modal-like determiner in certain constructions. In everyday use, it signals persistence or absence of motion, and it often functions to contrast with action or noise.
Still denotes a lack of movement or change, or indicates a lingering state. It also serves as an adverb to describe continuity up to now, or as a modal-like determiner in certain constructions. In everyday use, it signals persistence or absence of motion, and it often functions to contrast with action or noise.
- Confusing /ɪ/ with a longer, lax vowel or a reduced vowel; ensure the vowel remains short and brisk. - Over-aspiration on /t/ or adding extra vowel sounds between /t/ and /l/, which makes it sound like /ˈstɪtəl/ or /stɪləl/. - Final L misarticulation: avoid a heavy, velarized L; aim for a light, alveolar /l/ that snaps quickly. - When connected, some speakers insert a tiny vowel after /t/ before /l/; keep it tight: /stɪl/ instead of /stɪəll/.
"She stood very still as the photographer clicked."
"Even after hours of effort, the engine remained still and refused to start."
"We waited in still silence for the verdict to be announced."
Pronounce it as /stɪl/. Start with /s/ followed by a short, lax /ɪ/ as in “bit,” then end with a clear /l/. The mouth closes quickly, with the tongue near the alveolar ridge and the tip touching it briefly for the /l/; lips are neutral. In careful speech, ensure the vowel is short and not drawn out, and avoid turning it into /stiːl/ or /stɪə/. IPA: US/UK/AU /stɪl/.
Two frequent errors are elongating the vowel to /iː/ making /stiːl/ and turning the final /l/ into a dark or velarized /ɫ/ in a way that thickens the syllable. To correct: keep the vowel short /ɪ/ and make the /l/ a light, alveolar release rather than a heavy backing sound. Maintain a quick, crisp transition from /s/ to /t/ and then to /l/ without inserting a schwa. IPA reminder: /stɪl/.
Across accents, the core phoneme /stɪl/ remains, but vowel quality can shift. US English often features a rhotic consonant following, but since /r/ is not present here, the influence is minimal; some speakers may have a slightly higher F1 for /ɪ/. UK English keeps a crisp, clear /t/ release before /l/, sometimes with a bit more enamel on the tongue tip. Australian speakers typically preserve /ɪ/ but may reduce the vowel slightly in connected speech, and the /l/ can be light and dentalized in careful speech.
The challenge lies in maintaining a short, clipped vowel /ɪ/ immediately before the final /l/ without adding a segment or prolonging the vowel. People often yawn into a longer diphthong or vocalize the /l/; also, syllable timing may blur into a near-schwa. To master it, practice keeping the tongue close to the alveolar ridge for /t/ and /l/ transitions while keeping the body relaxed. IPA guidance helps you monitor exact vowel length and consonant timing.
A useful tip is to practice a rapid /st/ onset followed immediately by a light, tip-contact /l/, with the tip barely touching the alveolar ridge. In connected speech, you can lightly reduce vowel duration in faster contexts, but keep /ɪ/ short and not centralized. Practice with the minimal pair /stɪl/ vs /stiːl/ to feel the difference, and rely on IPA reminders to maintain the independent, short vowel.
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- US: keep vowel quality close to /ɪ/ with minimal lip rounding; light rhotic influence in connected speech; adhere to a clear, light tongue tip for /t/ and a crisp /l/. - UK: crisper /t/ release, slightly tenser tongue, more precise alveolar contact before /l/; vowel tends toward short, compact /ɪ/. - AU: can be a touch more centralized vowels in rapid speech; maintain short /ɪ/ and a soft, fronted /l/; avoid vowel lengthening in casual registers.
The word still comes from Old English stil, meaning “motionless, quiet, calm, patient.” It has Germanic origins, related to Old Norse stillr and Dutch stil, all tied to a sense of remaining in a fixed position or silent state. Historically, stil evolved to cover both physical stillness and figurative perseverance (as in “to still one’s fears”). The semantic core—absence of movement or change—remains, but the word broadened to include adverbial uses like “nevertheless” and “yet” in phrases such as “still, I doubt it.” In Middle English, spellings varied (stil, stille) and pronunciation likely featured a long vowel or a short /ɪ/ depending on dialect. By Early Modern English, standardization favored the monosyllabic form /stɪl/ in most dialects, consistent with other brief function words. The meaning consolidates around a fixed position or state, with later idiomatic expansions in modern usage across diverse registers. First known uses appear in Old and Middle English texts, with sustained usage in religious, legal, and literary contexts, where stillness or persistence is thematized as virtue or endurance. Its resilience in usage reflects both tangible non-movement and metaphorical constancy across centuries.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "still" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "still" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "still"
-ill sounds
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