intimacy

IPA /ˈɪntəməsi/ Syllables 4 · ihn·tuh·muh·see Stress 1st syllable
IHN·tuh·muh·see
Start here

Americans pronounce intimacy as IHN-tuh-muh-see (/ˈɪntəməsi/). The T drops out of the cluster entirely in casual American speech. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

Now you try.

Record yourself saying "intimacy" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.

Ready when you are
Tap the mic to start
Preview your accent profile

Get your accent profile and 5-axes assessment.

Sounds
75%
Clarity
68%
Stress
78%
Intonation
65%
Fluency
62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Pronouncing the silent T after N.

In "intimacy", 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.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch IHN — keep everything else short and quick.

Unlock the full report in the app
Why it sounds different

Why "intimacy" sounds like IHN·tuh·muh·see.

In "intimacy", 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 IHN·tuh·muh·see.

In real conversation

Hear "intimacy" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"I prefer the intimacy of a small black box theater."
ahy pruh·FUR dhee IHN·tuh·muh·see uhv uh SMAHL BLAK BAHKS THEE·uh·der
Same pattern

Words that work the same way.

All of these share phonetic features with this word — same trick.

IHN·struh·muhntsinstrumentsSUH·pluh·MEHN·tuh·reesupplementaryIHM·pluh·MEHN·tuhdimplementedIHM·pluh·MEHN·tuhngimplementingIHN·tuh·muhtintimateDAH·kyuh·MEHN·tuh·reedocumentarykuhn·SIH·stuhnt·leeconsistentlysuhg·NIH·fuh·kuhnt·leesignificantly
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 "intimacy", 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.

intimacy→IHN·tuh·muh·see
02

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch IHN — keep everything else short and quick.

ihn·TUH·MUH·SEE→IHN·tuh·muh·see
03

Pronouncing the unstressed 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.

IHN·TUH·muh·see→IHN·tuh·muh·see
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "intimacy" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "IHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "IHN-tuh-muh-see" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "intimacy" 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 "IHN-tuh-muh-see" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "intimacy" 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 "IHN-tuh-muh-see" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

Stop reading about "intimacy". Start saying it.

SayWaader is the AI pronunciation coach for American English. Practice 5 minutes a day. Get a 5-axes accent assessment. Sound like you live here.

Download for iOS Android Coming soon