a/æ/
Nasalized-ngBefore NG, the vowel changes to sound more like the AY (/eɪ/) diphthong. The middle part of the tongue lifts toward the roof of the mouth, then the front part arches up.
How to pronounce anxiety in American English
ang·ZAHY·uh·tee
Start here
Americans pronounce anxiety as ang-ZAHY-uh-tee (/æŋˈzaɪəɾi/). In "anxiety", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. This is called the Flap T, the kind of sound shift that makes everyday speech feel effortless. It comes out as ang·ZAHY·uh·tee. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She practices breathing exercises every evening to reduce stress and anxiety".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "anxiety".
4 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ng/ŋ/
Lift the back of your tongue to the soft palate. Lower your soft palate to let air flow through your nose.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
ahy/aɪ/
Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
In real conversation
Hear "anxiety" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
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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
Saying a hard "T" in the middle.
In "anxiety", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.
ang-ZAHY-uh-tee→ang·ZAHY·uh·tee
02
Pronouncing the vowel before NG too pure.
In "anxiety", the "a" vowel before NG shifts toward "ay" — sounding like "ay" as in "say", a distinctly American pattern — most prominent in Midwestern American English; other GenAm speakers may use a less raised vowel. Vowel changes to sound like /eɪ/ ("ay" as in "say").
ang-ZAHY-uh-tee→ang·ZAHY·uh·tee
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch ZAHY — keep everything else short and quick.
ANG·zahy·UH·TEE→ang·ZAHY·uh·tee
04
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the second syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
ang·ZAHY·UH·tee→ang·ZAHY·uh·tee
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "anxiety" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "ZAHY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ang-ZAHY-uh-tee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why doesn't the T sound like a T in "anxiety"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "anxiety" sounds closer to "ang-ZAHY-uh-tee" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
Why does the third syllable in "anxiety" 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 "ang-ZAHY-uh-tee" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "anxiety" 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 "ang-ZAHY-uh-tee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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