How to pronounce "foundering" in English
ˈfaʊndərɪŋ
FOWN·dər·ing
Primary stress: FOWN
Hear native speakers say foundering in context across real video clips
say comes from the long-term consequences of the Great Society itself a utopian idea that is now foundering upon mathematics and generational change generational
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “foundering”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
FOWN
Gliding diphthong with sustained vocal resonance.
dər
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
ing
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the first syllable ("FOWN"). 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 "foundering" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "foundering is" sounds like "foundering-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "foundering" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“Society itself a utopian idea that is now foundering upon mathematics and”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“with and so yeah every time I feel like I'm foundering I go and talk to about this project and I feel like there's a”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“hours you're listening to foundering i'm your host ellen hewitt in the previous episode we visited adam newman's childhood kibbutz”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“you're listening to foundering this week in our final episode we'll take a look at wework after adam layoffs”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“you're listening to foundering i'm your host ellen hewitt last week we talked about wework's sparkly outward-facing image”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“me and and you're gonna see that i'm not bluffing you're listening to foundering i'm your”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “foundering”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
Society itself a utopian idea that is now foundering upon mathematics and
Hear it in context: “foundering”
28 clipsThe English word “foundering” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˈfaʊndərɪŋ (phonetic respelling: FOWN-dər-ing). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (FOWN · dər · ing), with primary lexical stress placed on the 1st (initial) syllable (FOWN). Grammatically, “foundering” functions as a verb, noun. SayItVid indexes 28 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “foundering” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from Harvard University, MIT OpenCourseWare.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #1 · @31:01
“say comes from the long-term consequences of the Great Society itself a utopian idea that is now foundering upon mathematics and generational change generational”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #2 · @75:51
“reflector Community practices working on fabulous project that I'm assisting her with and so yeah every time I feel like I'm foundering I go and talk to about this project and I feel like there's a foundering I go and talk to about this project and I feel like there's a”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @1:43
“that onto the floor and let it just walking away for hours hours you're listening to foundering i'm your host ellen hewitt in the previous episode we visited adam newman's childhood kibbutz ellen hewitt in the previous episode we visited adam newman's childhood kibbutz”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @2:28
“that maybe adam had disturbed a mummy's tomb you're listening to foundering this week in our final episode we'll take a look at wework after adam layoffs we'll take a look at wework after adam layoffs”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @1:50
“think this is a cult and i said possibly you're listening to foundering i'm your host ellen hewitt last week we talked about wework's sparkly outward-facing image last week we talked about wework's sparkly outward-facing image”
Definition & Meaning: “foundering”
- present participle and gerund of founder
- The act by which a vessel founders.
Example Sentences (3)
- “It's the nature of founderings that ships have buoyancy and are afloat one second, then lose buoyancy and sink the next.”
- “Society itself a utopian idea that is now foundering upon mathematics and”
- “with and so yeah every time I feel like I'm foundering I go and talk to about this project and I feel like there's a”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “foundering”
- Pronunciation:
- FOWN-dər-ing
- Syllables:
- FOWN · dər · ing
- Written Hyphenation:
- foun · der · ing
- Primary stress:
- FOWN
- IPA:
- ˈfaʊndərɪŋ
- Hear it in context
- foundering
Synonyms: “foundering”
Hear words related in meaning to “foundering” in real video clips:
Words that Rhyme with “foundering”
-aʊndərɪŋWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"foundering" (⁄ˈfaʊndərɪŋ⁄) 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, "foundering" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about foundering
How do you pronounce “foundering”?
“foundering” is pronounced ⁄ˈfaʊndərɪŋ⁄ (FOWN-dər-ing). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “foundering”?
“foundering” has 3 syllables: FOWN · dər · ing.
Where is the stress in “foundering”?
The primary stress in “foundering” is on “FOWN”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “foundering” mean?
present participle and gerund of founder
How can I hear “foundering” used in real sentences?
This page has 28 real-world video examples of “foundering” 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 “foundering”?
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⁄).