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.
How to pronounce duress in American English
duu·REHS
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Americans pronounce duress as duu-REHS (/dʊˈrɛs/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She claimed that the contract was signed under duress".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "duress".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uu/ʊ/
Bring the corners of your lips in slightly so they push forward, but keep them relaxed. Lift the back of your tongue toward the roof of the mouth.
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.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
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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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch REHS — keep everything else short and quick.
DUU·rehs→duu·REHS
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "duress" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "REHS" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "duu-REHS" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "duress" 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 "duu-REHS" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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