WETH-urd
/ˈwɛðɚd/
weathered is pronounced WETH-urd (/ˈwɛðɚd/). Weathered describes something that has been worn or exposed to the elements over time, showing signs of aging or erosion. It can also mean having endured difficult conditions, demonstrating resilience. The term can function both as a verb (to weather) and an adjective (weathered wood, a weathered face). In context, it conveys patina, wear, and experience.
Weathered describes something that has been worn or exposed to the elements over time, showing signs of aging or erosion. It can also mean having endured difficult conditions, demonstrating resilience. The term can function both as a verb (to weather) and an adjective (weathered wood, a weathered face). In context, it conveys patina, wear, and experience.
- You’ll often hear learners blur the /ð/ into /d/ or /z/. Fix: place tongue gently between teeth, voice on, and release cleanly into /ərd/. - The second syllable often reduces too much: practice with a clear /ər/ before the final /d/ by saying weather + d slowly: WEH- then ERD; ensure not to drop the /ər/. - Final consonant: some say /d/ with unreleased stop; aim for a fully released /d/ when at the end of phrases to avoid final confusion. - Stress: many say “WEATHERED” with flat intonation; keep primary stress on the first syllable to preserve meaning. - Linking: in connected speech, avoid adding extra vowels between syllables; practice with variations to sound natural in fast talking.
"The fence looked weathered after years of sun and rain."
"Her weathered hands told a story of hard labor."
"The weathered ship’s hull bore the scars of many storms."
Pronounce it as WEH-therd for US/UK, with primary stress on the first syllable. IPA: US/UK /ˈwɛðərd/. Start with /w/ lips rounded, move to /ɛ/ (short “e” as in “bed”), then /ð/ (voiced dental fricative, like in “the”), ending with /ərd/ where the /ɚ/ in US becomes a reduced vowel before a clear /d/. In careful speech, you can hear the two-syllable rhythm: WEH-therd; in rapid speech, it can sound like /ˈwɛðəd/ with a softer second vowel.
Common mistakes: (1) pronouncing as two syllables with a strong /ed/ ending like 'weather-ed'—actually it’s /ˈwɛðərd/ with a reduced second vowel; (2) mispronouncing /ð/ as /d/ or /z/—keep the dental fricative /ð/ between /θ/ and /z/; (3) misplacing stress as on the second syllable—remember primary stress is on the first. Correction: practice WEH- ( /ˈwɛð/ ) then /ərd/ with a relaxed, quick /ər/ and final /d/.
In US and UK, primary stress remains on the first syllable: /ˈwɛðərd/. The influence of rhoticity is subtle here; US tends to have a rhotic /ɹ/ in the second syllable; UK typically has a non-rhotic vowel reduction in connected speech, with /ə/ for the second syllable in faster speech. Australian English mirrors US in rhotic tendency but often with more vowel centralization; the /ð/ remains consistent. Overall, the core is /ˈwɛðərd/ with minimal variation in the final /d/.
The difficulty lies in the /ð/ sound, a voiced dental fricative that many learners substitute with /d/ or /z/. Additionally, the second syllable contains a reduced vowel /ə/ that can blur in fast speech, and the final /d/ can be unreleased in rapid talk, making it sound like /ˈwɛðər/ or /ˈwɛðəd/. Practice the precise tongue position: blade of the tongue between upper and lower teeth, voice on, breath support, and a crisp final /d/.
A weathered-specific nuance is ensuring the /ð/ is clearly voiced, differentiating from a similar-sounding /d/ or /v/. The /er/ sequence in many English dialects produces a schwa-like /ər/ or a rhotacized /ɚ/ in US; controlling this vowel lets you keep the first syllable crisp while avoiding a slide into /wɛd/ or /wɪ-/. Also, maintain the light touch on the final d in connected phrases.
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- US: rhotic; the /ɹ/ is pronounced before the vowel in many contexts; US speakers often have a slightly darker /ɜr/ in some dialects. - UK: non-rhotic; the /r/ is not pronounced unless before a vowel; second syllable tends toward a schwa /ə/; the /ð/ remains the same; - AU: tends to be non-rhotic but with vowel quality that is broader; typical to have a less centralized /ə/ and a stronger /ɜ/ in some varieties. - Vowel focus: ensure /ɛ/ in the first syllable is clear; avoid turning into /eɪ/ or /e/; the second syllable’s /ər/ or /ə/ should be a quick, neutral vowel rather than a full vowel. - IPA references: US /ˈwɛðərd/, UK /ˈwɛðəd/, AU /ˈwɛðəd/.
Weathered derives from weather, in the sense of the atmosphere or climate affecting something’s surface. The verb weather dates from Middle English, from Old English weder “weather, season, storm,” related to Dutch weder and German Wetter, all connected to the Proto-Germanic *w Isaac* (root related to wind and weather). The suffix -ed marks past participle or past tense forms, signaling completed exposure or process. Early uses described crops or surfaces worn down by weather; later, weathered widened to describe material that has endured environmental exposure or a person’s weather-beaten appearance. The semantic shift to figurative weariness or resilience (to weather a storm) strengthened in the 17th–19th centuries, emphasizing endurance under hardship as well as physical wear. First known usages appear in medieval English texts referencing climate and storm effects, gradually extending to ships, wood, and natural landscapes before adopting broader metaphorical senses that convey age, experience, and-character. Over time, weathered has grown to denote both physical aging and experiential depth, often with a poetic or noir nuance in literature and journalism.
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Words that rhyme with "weathered"
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