uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce agreement in American English
uh·GREE·muhnt
Start here
Americans pronounce agreement as uh-GREE-muhnt (/əˈgrimənt/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "He violated the terms of his parole agreement" or "The lease agreement specifies the monthly rent amount" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "agreement".
3 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
g/g/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate. Add vocal cord vibration, then release.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
In real conversation
Hear "agreement" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He signed a non-disclosure agreement before joining the company."
hee SAHYND uh NAHN duh·SKLOH·zher uh·GREE·muhnt buh·FOR JOY·nuhng dhuh KUHM·puh·nee
"International observers monitored the ceasefire agreement closely."
ihn·ter·NA·shuh·nuhl uhb·ZUR·verz MAH·nuh·terd dhuh SEES·fahy·er uh·GREE·muhnt KLOH·slee
"Let's discuss the terms and conditions of the proposed agreement."
LEHTS duh·SKUHS dhuh TURMZ and kuhn·DIH·shuhnz uhv dhuh pruh·POHZD uh·GREE·muhnt
"The agreement aims to reduce carbon emissions by fifty percent."
dhee uh·GREE·muhnt AYMZ tuh ruh·DOOS KAR·buhn uh·MIH·shuhnz bahy FIHF·tee per·SEHNT
"The bipartisan committee reached an agreement on immigration reform."
dhuh bahy·PAR·tuh·zuhn kuh·MIH·dee REECHT uhn uh·GREE·muhnt ahn ih·muh·GRAY·shuhn ruh·FORM
"The discussion became quite heated, but we eventually reached an agreement."
dhuh duh·SKUH·shuhn buh·KAYM KWAHYT HEE·duhd buht wee uh·VEHN·chuh·lee REECHT uhn uh·GREE·muhnt
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "agreement", the "t" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
agreement→uh·GREE·muhnt
02
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "agreement", the short unstressed vowel before "n" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "n" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.
agreement→uh·GREE·muhnt
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch GREE — keep everything else short and quick.
UH·gree·MUHNT→uh·GREE·muhnt
04
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
UH·GREE·muhnt→uh·GREE·muhnt
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "agreement" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "GREE" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-GREE-muhnt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "agreement" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "uh-GREE-muhnt" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "agreement" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "uh-GREE-muhnt" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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