How to pronounce smoothly in American English
SMOODH·lee
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Americans pronounce smoothly as SMOODH-lee (/ˈsmuðli/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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"He works as a stage manager ensuring everything runs smoothly."
hee WURKS uhz uh STAYJ MA·nuh·jer uhn·SHUUR·uhng EHV·ree·thuhng RUHNZ SMOODH·lee
"I breathe smoothly."
ahy BREEDH SMOODH·lee
"The relay team passed the baton smoothly without dropping it."
dhuh REE·lay TEEM PAST dhuh buh·TAHN SMOODH·lee wih·DHOWT DRAH·puhng iht
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 SMOODH — keep everything else short and quick.
smoodh·LEE→SMOODH·lee
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "smoothly" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "SMOODH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "SMOODH-lee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "smoothly" 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 "SMOODH-lee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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