3 syllables: Ver, be, na. Stress on be.
vur-BEE-nuh
/vɚˈbinə/
Verbena is pronounced vur-BEE-nuh (/vɚˈbinə/). It has three syllables (Ver-be-na), with the stress on "be". Verbena is a noun referring to a genus of flowering plants in the vervain family, commonly used in ornamental gardening and herbaceous borders. It also denotes a scented herb used in some traditional remedies and in perfumery. The term can appear in horticulture contexts or in discussions of Mediterranean flora. Pronunciation should be clear to distinguish it from similar-sounding plant names.
nounVerbena is a noun referring to a genus of flowering plants in the vervain family, commonly used in ornamental gardening and herbaceous borders. It also denotes a scented herb used in some traditional remedies and in perfumery. The term can appear in horticulture contexts or in discussions of Mediterranean flora. Pronunciation should be clear to distinguish it from similar-sounding plant names.
"The summer garden featured vibrant verbena clusters along the trellis."
"She planted verbena to attract butterflies to the yard."
"In herbal medicine, verbena is sometimes used for its calming properties."
Say ver-BEE-nuh with stress on the second syllable. The first syllable sounds like 'ver' (as in very) but with a short vowel; middle syllable is a clear long E of /iː/; final 'na' is a light schwa or /ə/ depending on accent. IPA: US /vɚˈbiː nə/, UK /vəˈbiːnə/, AU /vəˈbiːnə/. A helpful cue is to emphasize the long E in the middle while keeping the first syllable unstressed. You can listen to native pronunciations on Pronounce or YouGlish for consistent examples.
Common errors: (1) Placing stress on the first syllable as VER-be-na; (2) compressing the middle vowel to a short /ɪ/ or /e/ instead of /iː/; (3) pronouncing final as -nah with a full schwa. Correction tips: keep the second syllable tense with /iː/ and reduce the first syllable to a quick, light /vər/ or /və/; end with a light /ə/ or /ə/; practice saying ver-BEEn-uh by tapping the middle syllable clearly and then fading softly into the final.
US tends to reduce the first syllable to a schwa /vɚ/ and stresses the second syllable as /ˈbiː/ with a clear long E; final is /nə/. UK typically uses /vəˈbiːnə/ with a non-rhotic /r/ dropping in most accents and a similarly stressed middle syllable; AU follows US-like patterns but with Australian Vowel tendencies, often broader /ɜ/ in the first syllable and a crisp /iː/ in the middle. Overall, main differences are rhoticity and vowel quality; the middle syllable remains the stressed, long E in all major varieties.
The difficulty lies in balancing the syllables quickly: you have a consonant cluster in /rv/ at the start and the need for a long /iː/ in the second syllable, which is easy to shorten in rapid speech. The unstressed first syllable /vər/ can reduce toward a schwa, causing mis-stress; the final /ə/ must be light. Practicing with slow tempo and precise middle-syllable emphasis helps the mouth form the long /iː/ without upsetting the surrounding sounds.
Verbena has no silent letters; the challenge is proper vowel length and stress pattern. The nucleus of the word is the long /iː/ in the second syllable, which should be clearly louder than surrounding vowels. The word follows a typical two-beat English rhythm: unstressed first syllable, stressed second syllable, and a light final vowel. Ensuring the middle vowel remains full and the first syllable remains light preserves natural English rhythm.
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Verbena comes from Latin verbena, meaning a sacred or consecrated offering or a plant used in religious rites, derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wer- (to rise, to turn). In Latin, verbena referred to sacred offerings or votive plants offered to deities; by extension, it came to denote the flowering herb in botanical contexts. The term migrated into English via Medieval Latin, retaining its botanical sense as trade and horticulture expanded in the Renaissance. Early English texts adopted verbena strictly as a plant name, with “vervain” as a common English variant for the plant señora in the vervain group. Its usage spans botany, herbalism, and cultivation discussions from the 16th century onward, with modern contexts including garden design and essential-oil discussions. The word’s evolution mirrors a shift from sacred/votive associations to universally recognized ornamental flora, while still occasionally invoking historical medicinal uses. First known use in English dates from the 16th-17th centuries, aligned with botanical cataloging and herbal compendia of the period.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Verbena" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Verbena" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Verbena"
-ena sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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