How to pronounce closely in American English
KLOH·slee
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Americans pronounce closely as KLOH-slee (/ˈkloʊsli/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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In real conversation
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"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
"Note the tone of the whole proposal closely."
NOHT dhuh TOHN uhv dhuh HOHL pruh·POH·zuhl KLOH·slee
"Observe the wisdom of the wizard closely."
uhb·ZURV dhuh WIHZ·duhm uhv dhuh WIH·zerd KLOH·slee
"She follows the results of the tennis grand slams closely."
shee FAH·lohz dhuh ruh·ZUHLTS uhv dhuh TEH·nuhs GRAND SLAMZ KLOH·slee
Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KLOH — keep everything else short and quick.
kloh·SLEE→KLOH·slee
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "closely" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "KLOH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "KLOH-slee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "closely" 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 "KLOH-slee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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