How to pronounce "deemphasizing" in English
diːˈɛmfəsaɪzɪŋ
dee·EM·fə·sy·zing
Primary stress: EM
Hear native speakers say deemphasizing in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “deemphasizing”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
dee
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
EM
Gliding diphthong with sustained vocal resonance.
fə
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
sy
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
zing
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("EM"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
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 "deemphasizing" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "deemphasizing is" sounds like "deemphasizing-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "deemphasizing" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“Let's begin to undo that by deemphasizing agreeable single-family homes in favor of more shared housing models.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“But you can do it in your classroom too by deemphasizing the things that trigger that.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“So I'm not sure that we're deemphasizing foreign news.”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“uh long-term payouts um but you know costs upfront um so I guess my question is does does deemphasizing the importance of climate variability kind”— StanfordWatch clip
“being a kill Joy it's not about taking away all forms of Happiness it's about deemphasizing the happiness that's about your own self accomplish”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“started deemphasizing a bit uh they we might see them roll back but Scarboro”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “deemphasizing”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
Let's begin to undo that by deemphasizing agreeable single-family homes in favor of more shared housing models.
Hear it in context: “deemphasizing”
14 clipsThe English word “deemphasizing” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as diːˈɛmfəsaɪzɪŋ (phonetic respelling: dee-EM-fə-sy-zing). Phonologically, it consists of 5 syllables (dee · EM · fə · sy · zing), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (EM). Grammatically, “deemphasizing” functions as a verb. SayItVid indexes 14 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “deemphasizing” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from TEDx Talks, MIT OpenCourseWare, Harvard University.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #1 · @13:48
“We explicitly founded this city to be classist and racist. Let's begin to undo that by deemphasizing agreeable single-family homes in favor of more shared housing models. homes in favor of more shared housing models.”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #2 · @68:04
“way towards mitigating the wiring together. But you can do it in your classroom too by deemphasizing the things that trigger that. the things that trigger that.”
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #3 · @75:40
“have foreign stories in the paper? They did and we continue to have uh quite a bit of foreign coverage in the in the newspaper. So I'm not sure that we're deemphasizing foreign news. Uh but we've certainly in terms of allocating our deemphasizing foreign news. Uh but we've certainly in terms of allocating our”
- 🇺🇸 USStanfordClip #4 · @108:16
“about investments in climate change some of the ones you mentioned have kind of uh long-term payouts um but you know costs upfront um so I guess my question is does does deemphasizing the importance of climate variability kind is does does deemphasizing the importance of climate variability kind”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #5 · @13:19
“us think how do we help people gain better control in a way that's not about being a kill Joy it's not about taking away all forms of Happiness it's about deemphasizing the happiness that's about your own self accomplish deemphasizing the happiness that's about your own self accomplish”
Definition & Meaning: “deemphasizing”
- To reduce the relative importance or prominence of something.
- present participle and gerund of deemphasize
Example Sentences (3)
- “The teacher decided to deemphasize rote memorization in favor of critical thinking.”
- “Let's begin to undo that by deemphasizing agreeable single-family homes in favor of more shared housing models.”
- “But you can do it in your classroom too by deemphasizing the things that trigger that.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “deemphasizing”
- Pronunciation:
- dee-EM-fə-sy-zing
- Syllables:
- dee · EM · fə · sy · zing
- Written Hyphenation:
- de · em · pha · siz · ing
- Primary stress:
- EM
- IPA:
- diːˈɛmfəsaɪzɪŋ
- Hear it in context
- deemphasizing
Words that Rhyme with “deemphasizing”
-ɛmfəsaɪzɪŋWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"deemphasizing" (⁄diːˈɛmfəsaɪzɪŋ⁄) 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, "deemphasizing" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about deemphasizing
How do you pronounce “deemphasizing”?
“deemphasizing” is pronounced ⁄diːˈɛmfəsaɪzɪŋ⁄ (dee-EM-fə-sy-zing). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “deemphasizing”?
“deemphasizing” has 5 syllables: dee · EM · fə · sy · zing.
Where is the stress in “deemphasizing”?
The primary stress in “deemphasizing” is on “EM”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “deemphasizing” mean?
To reduce the relative importance or prominence of something.
How can I hear “deemphasizing” used in real sentences?
This page has 14 real-world video examples of “deemphasizing” 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 “deemphasizing”?
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⁄).