ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
How to pronounce imposed in American English
ihm·POHZD
Start here
Americans pronounce imposed as ihm-POHZD (/ɪmˈpoʊzd/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "International sanctions were imposed in response to the violations".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "imposed".
2 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch POHZD — keep everything else short and quick.
IHM·pohzd→ihm·POHZD
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "imposed" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "POHZD" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ihm-POHZD" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "imposed" 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 "ihm-POHZD" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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