TEN-duhnz
/ˈtɛndənz/
tendons is pronounced TEN-duhnz (/ˈtɛndənz/). Tendons are tough, fibrous cords that connect muscles to bones, enabling movement. They are strong, elastic tissues composed mainly of collagen, designed to withstand tension. In anatomy and medicine, tendons are essential for transferring muscular force to skeletal joints, facilitating precise, controlled motions.
Tendons are tough, fibrous cords that connect muscles to bones, enabling movement. They are strong, elastic tissues composed mainly of collagen, designed to withstand tension. In anatomy and medicine, tendons are essential for transferring muscular force to skeletal joints, facilitating precise, controlled motions.
"The surgeon examined the torn tendons to assess the damage."
"Athletes rely on healthy tendons to maintain explosive power during sprints."
"Tendons can become inflamed in tendinopathy when overused."
Pronounce as /ˈtɛnˌdɒnz/ in UK/AU or /ˈtɛn.dənz/ in US. The first syllable carries primary stress, with /t/ + short /e/ as in “ten,” followed by a light /d/ and a voiced nasal /nz/ or /nz/ cluster. The /o/ in US is a reduced schwa-like /ə/ or /ɒ/ depending on speaker; maintain a clear /d/ and final /z/ sound. IPA: US /ˈtɛn.dənz/, UK/AU /ˈten.dənz/. Audio references: consult pronunciation resources, listening to native medical readings for exact cadence.
Common errors: 1) Slurring the middle /d/ to a blended /dn/ or dropping it, making /ˈtɛnənz/. 2) Reducing the second syllable to /ən/ without the /d/; you lose the-tendon-clarity. 3) Misplacing the /o/ as /oʊ/ or /ɔː/ in US, causing /ˈtɛn.dɔːnz/ instead of /ˈtɛn.dənz/. Correction: articulate a distinct /d/ between the two syllables and keep the /ən/ vowel in the second syllable; keep the final /z/ clearly voiced. Practice with syllable-timed rhythm to maintain even tempo.
US: /ˈtɛn.dənz/ with light, quick /d/ and a schwa-like second syllable; rhotic environment doesn’t change it. UK/AU: /ˈten.dənz/ with slightly crisper /t/ and more pronounced /ə/ in the second syllable; the final /z/ remains. In some UK dialects, a subtle /n/ is velarized before /z/, giving a faint nasal color. Overall, primary differences are vowel quality of the second syllable and speed of transition; stress remains on the first syllable across accents.
Key challenges: the sequence /t/ + short vowel + /d/ can cause a quick, weak middle consonant if you’re not precise; the /d/ sits between two alveolars, so it can blur with /t/ or /n/. Additionally, the final /nz/ cluster requires a voiced alveolar nasal immediately followed by a voiced alveolar fricative /z/. You’ll hear a crisp /d/ and a clear /z/ if you separate the segments; practice with slow drills to stabilize the transition.
A distinctive feature is the /dn/ sequence across the syllable boundary: the /d/ ends the first syllable and the /n/ begins the second within a tight slot, producing a light link but a discernible boundary. You can reinforce this by practicing a deliberate /d/ release followed immediately by a nasal onset, ensuring the /d/ doesn’t assimilate into a lazy /n/. This boundary is key to intelligible, precise pronunciation.
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The word tendon comes from Old French tendons, from Latin tendere ‘to stretch, extend’ (from tat Latin tendere, to stretch). The English term appears by the 14th century, originally denoting something that stretches or extends. Early medical writers borrowed from Latin and French to describe the fibrous structures connecting muscle to bone. The core idea—an elastic, strong band that transmits muscular force—has remained constant. Over time, tendon in English specialized to anatomical usage, distinguishing tendinous tissue from ligaments or muscles. The plural tendons reflects ordinary English plural formation with -s. The semantic evolution mirrors growing anatomical knowledge in the Renaissance and subsequent centuries, when dissection and medical illustration clarified muscle-tendon-bone relationships. Today, tendons are routinely discussed in physiology, orthopedics, and sports medicine, distinguished from ligaments by their muscle-to-bone connections rather than bone-to-bone stabilizers. First known uses occur in Middle English medical texts, with the term becoming standard in anatomy by the 17th–18th centuries as anatomical vocabulary expanded in medical schools and print glossaries.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "tendons" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "tendons"
-nds sounds
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