How to pronounce "abscesses" in English
ab·sces·ses
Hear native speakers say abscesses in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “abscesses”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
ab
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
sces
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
ses
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Keep the vowel length balanced, placing subtle emphasis on the root morpheme according to standard conversational rhythm.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels.
How Native Speakers Say It: Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "abscesses" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "abscesses is" sounds like "abscesses-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "abscesses" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“And biologists have reported finding wild animals as diverse as lions, and bears, and orcas with huge painful abscesses.”— SciShowWatch clip
“Their mouths are full of abscesses, diseases, hurting teeth, missing teeth, loose teeth that they can't function anymore.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“They did not participate in surgery except, for example, for setting bones, lancing abscesses and practicing venesection;”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“good health and Leisure but as he Riley puts it a few cavities the odd abscesses”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“Now, epidural abscesses can occur in the”— StanfordWatch clip
“horror in which he very nearly died of a comat a combination of abscesses and”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “abscesses”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
And biologists have reported finding wild animals as diverse as lions, and bears, and orcas with huge painful abscesses.
Hear it in context: “abscesses”
22 clipsThe English word “abscesses”. Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (ab · sces · ses). Grammatically, “abscesses” functions as a noun, verb and acts as an English heteronym where syllable stress shifts between noun (initial-syllable stress) and verb (second-syllable stress) usage. SayItVid indexes 22 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “abscesses” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from SciShow, TEDx Talks, YaleCourses.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USSciShowClip #1 · @0:53
“or caries, as scientists call them. And biologists have reported finding wild animals as diverse as lions, and bears, and orcas with huge painful abscesses. orcas with huge painful abscesses.”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #2 · @10:24
“They don't have any access to basic medical and dental care. Their mouths are full of abscesses, diseases, hurting teeth, missing teeth, loose teeth that they can't function anymore. missing teeth, loose teeth that they can't function anymore.”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #3 · @35:40
“physicians practiced therapeutic modesty. They did not participate in surgery except, for example, for setting bones, lancing abscesses and practicing venesection; for example, for setting bones,”
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #4 · @2:54
“foraging ancestors moved into settled agriculture they gave up some of their good health and Leisure but as he Riley puts it a few cavities the odd abscesses and a couple of inches in height were a small price to pay for a fivefold better”
- 🇺🇸 USStanfordClip #5 · @22:36
“get a quick sagittal look at the thoracic and lumbar levels because your patient may have multi-level disease. Now, epidural abscesses can occur in the absence of discitis osteomyelitis, but that's a lot less common, but we do see”
Definition & Meaning: “abscesses”
- A cavity caused by tissue destruction, usually because of infection, filled with pus and surrounded by inflamed tissue.
- To form a pus-filled cavity, typically from an infection.
Example Sentences (2)
- “And biologists have reported finding wild animals as diverse as lions, and bears, and orcas with huge painful abscesses.”
- “Their mouths are full of abscesses, diseases, hurting teeth, missing teeth, loose teeth that they can't function anymore.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “abscesses”
- Syllables:
- ab · sces · ses
- Hear it in context
- abscesses
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"abscesses" has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "abscesses" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about abscesses
How many syllables are in “abscesses”?
“abscesses” has 3 syllables: ab · sces · ses.
What does “abscesses” mean?
A cavity caused by tissue destruction, usually because of infection, filled with pus and surrounded by inflamed tissue.
How can I hear “abscesses” used in real sentences?
This page has 22 real-world video examples of “abscesses” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “abscesses”?
Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels. Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).