VEYE-bray-ting
/ˈvaɪbɹeɪtɪŋ/
vibrating is pronounced VEYE-bray-ting (/ˈvaɪbɹeɪtɪŋ/). Vibrating is the ongoing, rapid motion of a body or object that produces a sound or impulse, often due to internal or external forces. In science and everyday language, it describes oscillation and repeated movement, typically at high frequency. The word also appears as a present participle modifying nouns or forming continuous verb forms (e.g., the machine is vibrating).
Vibrating is the ongoing, rapid motion of a body or object that produces a sound or impulse, often due to internal or external forces. In science and everyday language, it describes oscillation and repeated movement, typically at high frequency. The word also appears as a present participle modifying nouns or forming continuous verb forms (e.g., the machine is vibrating).
- You might stress the second syllable implicitly in rapid speech; practice with a focus on maintaining primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈvaɪ/. - Mispronouncing /breɪ/ as /bre/ or [{breɪ}] causing a clipped vowel; ensure /eɪ/ is a true diphthong moving from /e/ to /ɪ/. - Tampering the final /ŋ/ as an /n/ or an /ɪŋ/; aim for a clear velar nasal /ŋ/, with the tongue contacting the soft palate. - Another common error is running /t/ into the following /ɪ/; practice with a crisp /t/ followed by a separate /ɪ/; keep the syllable boundary clear. - In rapid speech, the /ɪŋ/ can be swallowed; maintain the nasal ending by lightly releasing the tongue to the velum for /ŋ/ and closing with the nasal resonance.
"The speaker’s stand is vibrating, causing a soft buzz."
"A nerve can be vibrating after a sharp impact, creating a tingling sensation."
"The satellite dish is vibrating slightly from wind pressure."
Pronounce as /ˈvaɪ.breɪ.tɪŋ/ in US and UK; primary stress on the first syllable. Start with an open front vowel in /vaɪ/ (like “vai” in violet), then /b/ with a light burst of air, /reɪ/ like “ray” with a long vowel, and end with /tɪŋ/ where the tongue taps the alveolar ridge for /t/ and the nasal /ŋ/ finishes. For Australian speakers, you’ll maintain the same rhythm, but vowel qualities around /ɪ/ and /eɪ/ may be slightly broader. Audio reference: listen to native speakers pronouncing “vibrating” on Forvo or YouGlish for the exact cadence.
Common errors include: 1) Misplacing primary stress on the second syllable (/vaɪˈbreɪ.tɪŋ/). Correct by keeping primary stress on the first syllable /ˈvaɪ/ and reducing emphasis on -tɪŋ. 2) Slurring /ˈvaɪˌbreɪtɪŋ/ where /br/ blends too quickly; practice with a light consonant separation: /ˈvaɪ. brɛɪ.tɪŋ/. 3) Vowel quality in /eɪ/ vs /e/; ensure /breɪ/ is a clear long diphthong rather than a short /ben/ sound. Practice by elongating /eɪ/ and keeping the following /t/ crisp.
US: /ˈvaɪ.breɪ.tɪŋ/, rhotic, with a darker /ɹ/ and clear /t/. UK: /ˈvaɪ.breɪ.tɪŋ/, non-rhotic or softly rhotic depending on region, with slightly less vowel length before /t/. AU: /ˈvaɪ.breɪ.tɪŋ/, vowel qualities can be broader and /t/ often clearer or flapped in rapid speech. Across all, the main stress remains on the first syllable; vowel quality in /ɪ/ vs /ɪŋ/ can vary by locale.
The difficulty comes from balancing a multi-consonant cluster around /br/ with a long diphthong /eɪ/ and a final /tɪŋ/. The rapid transition from the vowel /aɪ/ to the liquid/stop sequence /br/ and the nasal /ŋ/ requires precise timing and tongue placement. Also, the /ɪŋ/ ending can reduce emphasis on the last syllable in casual speech. Focus on segmental timing and a clean /t/ without releasing into an extra syllable.
A unique aspect is the /ɪŋ/ ending after a consonant cluster; you don’t pronounce it as /ˈvaɪ.bræ.tɪŋ/ or /ˈvaɪˌbreɪtɪn/—keep the final /ŋ/ distinct, not a nasalized vowel. Also ensure the /breɪ/ portion is a clear diphthong rather than a monophthong, and keep the /t/ light and unreleased if speaking quickly. This yields natural, native-like rhythm in connected speech.
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- US: rhotic /ɹ/ in /ˈvaɪ.breɪ.tɪŋ/ with a bright /ɪ/ and tense final /ŋ/. - UK: non-rhotic tendencies may soften /ɹ/ or omit it in some regions, keeping /ˈvaɪ.breɪ.tɪŋ/ crisp; maintain /t/ stop with a releasing puff. - AU: similar to US but vowels can be broader; keep the /eɪ/ diphthong precise and /ŋ/ clearly nasalized. - General note: all accents share the primary stress on the first syllable; practice with IPA templates and audio references.
Vibrating derives from the Latin verb vibrare, meaning to shake or to brandish, related to vibrum, a bat or blow. The form vibrating comes from the present participle of the Latin-based English verb vibrate, with the typical English agentive -ing suffix. The root vib- is connected to ideas of movement, oscillation, and impact. In English, vibrate appeared in the 17th century in scientific and mechanical contexts to describe oscillatory motion, and by the 18th–19th centuries it extended to more general physical and metaphorical uses (as in a vibrating feeling or vibrating wires). The noun vibration shares the same lineage. First known uses appear in works on mechanics and acoustics, where vibrating bodies produce waves, sounds, or signals. Over time, vibrating took on broader usage in psychology, electronics, music, and everyday speech, while preserving its core sense of repetitive motion causing observable effects. Today, vibrate/vibrating is ubiquitous in engineering, medicine, and vernacular descriptions of energetic motion.
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Words that rhyme with "vibrating"
-ing sounds
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