uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce appointed in American English
uh·POYN·tuhd
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Americans pronounce appointed as uh-POYN-tuhd (/əˈpɔɪntəd/). In "appointed", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. This is called the Silent T after N, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. It comes out as uh·POYN·tuhd. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She was appointed as the floor warden responsible for evacuations".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "appointed".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
oy/ɔɪ/
Start with rounded lips and tongue shifted back. Glide to relaxed lips with the tongue arching forward and up.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
t/t/
DroppedThe T is skipped entirely. Your tongue doesn't make contact at the T position.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
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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
Pronouncing the silent T after N.
In "appointed", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. /t/ is completely silent — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound.
appointed→uh·POYN·tuhd
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch POYN — keep everything else short and quick.
UH·poyn·TUHD→uh·POYN·tuhd
03
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·POYN·tuhd→uh·POYN·tuhd
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "appointed" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "POYN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-POYN-tuhd" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "appointed" 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-POYN-tuhd" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "appointed" 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-POYN-tuhd" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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