STRAYN-jurz
/ˈstɹeɪndʒɚz/
strangers is pronounced STRAYN-jurz (/ˈstɹeɪndʒɚz/). Strangers refers to people whom one does not know or with whom one has no prior relationship, often encountered in public or unfamiliar situations. The term emphasizes unfamiliarity and distance, whether social, emotional, or physical. In use, it commonly appears in contexts about meeting new people, warnings about trusting unknown individuals, or storytelling about unfamiliar encounters.
Strangers refers to people whom one does not know or with whom one has no prior relationship, often encountered in public or unfamiliar situations. The term emphasizes unfamiliarity and distance, whether social, emotional, or physical. In use, it commonly appears in contexts about meeting new people, warnings about trusting unknown individuals, or storytelling about unfamiliar encounters.
"I felt nervous walking past a group of strangers in the subway."
"The sign warned visitors not to talk to strangers."
"She struck up a conversation with a few strangers at the conference."
Pronounce as /ˈstræn.dʒərz/ in US and UK, with primary stress on the first syllable. In US, the final z is a voiced sound, so you’ll hear a clear /z/; in careful speech, the second syllable reduces the vowel briefly to a schwa before the /r/ or blends to /ər/; Australian tends to an /ˈstreɪn.dʒəz/ variant with a slightly longer diphthong in the first syllable. Mouth: start with a strong /st/ cluster, then /r/ with a light rolling or approximant, then /ændʒ/ for ‘an-gee’ blend, and finish with /ərz/ or /əz/ depending on accent. IPA: US/UK /ˈstræn.dʒərz/, AU /ˈstreɪn.dʒəz/.
Common errors include pronouncing the second syllable as /ˈstræŋ.dʒərz/ with a long ‘a’ like ‘stran-’ in ‘strange’, or mispronouncing the /dʒ/ as /ʒ/ (sh) or /dʒ/ as /z/. Another frequent mistake is weakening the final /z/ to a /s/ or dropping the /r/ in rhotic accents. Correction: keep the first syllable short but tense, produce /str/ cluster accurately, ensure the /æ/ is short as in ‘cat’, articulate /dʒ/ as a clear combined sound /dʒ/, then finish with a voiced /z/; in non-rhotic accents, the /r/ may not be pronounced, so adjust to /ˈstreɪn.dʒəz/ or /ˈstræn.dʒərz/ accordingly.
In US/UK rhotic varieties, you’ll hear a distinct /r/ in the second syllable; UK RP may reduce the /r/ more, sounding closer to /ˈstræn.dʒəs/ with a less pronounced final /z/ in some contexts. Australian English tends toward a longer first syllable vowel in ‘stra-’, often /ˈstreɪn.dʒəz/, with a clipped final /əz/ sound. The main differences involve the vowel in the first syllable (short /æ/ vs longer /eɪ/ or /æ/) and whether the final /r/ is pronounced (rhotic vs non-rhotic). IPA references help anchor these distinctions: US /ˈstræn.dʒərz/, UK /ˈstreɪn.dʒəz/, AU /ˈstreɪn.dʒəz/.
The difficulty stems from the consonant cluster /str/ at the start, followed by the affricate /dʒ/ and the final voiced /z/. Coordinating a crisp /str/ onset with the /dʒ/ without creating an intrusive vowel is challenging, and many learners shorten or misplace the /æ/ or /æ/ in the first syllable. Additionally, non-native speakers often mix up the /z/ with /s/ or drop the vowel in the second syllable. Practice tip: segment, then blend: /st/ + /r/ + /æ/ or /eɪ/ + /n/ + /dʒ/ + /ər/ + /z/.
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Strangers comes from Middle English estranjer, from Old French estranjier, from estrangier ‘to estrange, alienate’, from estranger ‘foreigner, alien’. The root is estrang- meaning ‘to cause to turn away’ or ‘foreign, strange’, linking to Latin extraneus ‘external, foreign’, from exter- ‘outside’. By the 14th century, the sense broadened to refer to people outside one’s own circle or country, i.e., those not known or familiar. Over time, the word retained a social orientation—emphasizing unfamiliarity and distance between speakers—while expanding to include ‘a person whom one does not know’ in everyday English usage. The phonological form shifted with English pronunciation but retained the plural -s suffix, and the stressed syllable pattern of STRAN-gers has remained stable in modern usage. First known written instances appear in Middle English texts where foreigners or non-acquaintances were described as estrangiers or strangers, evolving through Early Modern English into contemporary spellings. The semantic drift from ‘foreign impurity’ or ‘alien’ to ‘unfamiliar person’ reflects broader social constructions around safety, trust, and social proximity. The term is now a neutral or mildly pejorative label depending on context, often used without explicit judgment when describing people outside one’s social group.
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Words that rhyme with "strangers"
-ers sounds
-me) sounds
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