How to pronounce “misuse”
“misuse” is said two ways
/mɪsˈjus/
miss-YOOSS
Wrong use, as a thing. Ends in a hissed s.
/mɪsˈjuz/
miss-YOOZ
To use something wrongly. Ends in a buzzing z.
Listen for the vowel, not the letters
The spelling never moves; the sounds inside it do. Practise the two back to back, so your mouth stops defaulting to whichever one you learnt first.Both forms live in one sentence here: “People misuse the word daily, and the misuse is now in dictionaries.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “misuse” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the noun and the verb. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “misuse” in 2 beats
misuse
/mɪsˈjus/
Everything in this card describes the noun form. As a verb it is /mɪsˈjuz/.
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /mɪsˈjuːs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- mɪmɪ
- sjussjusstress
- IPA (American)
- /mɪsˈjus/
- IPA (British)
- /mɪsˈjuːs/
- Respelling
- miss-YOOSS (noun) · miss-YOOZ (verb)
- Syllables
- 2 — mɪ-SJUS
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: mɪ-SJUS. “sjus” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
This is the noun form in two accents — a separate question from the two pronunciations above, which are the same accent saying two different words.
/mɪsˈjus/
/mɪsˈjuːs/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “misuse” goes wrong
- Often heard
“miss-YOOZ of funds”
the noun ends in s — miss-YOOSS; only the verb is miss-YOOZ
What “misuse” means
- noun
improper or excessive use
“alcohol abuse”
- verb
apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly
“The words are misapplied in this context”
- verb
change the inherent purpose or function of something
“Don't abuse the system”
Say it in a sentence
“People misuse the word daily, and the misuse is now in dictionaries.”“misuse”, answered
How do you pronounce “misuse”?
“misuse” has two pronunciations: /mɪsˈjus/ as a noun and /mɪsˈjuz/ as a verb — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the sounds inside it do, and nothing on the page tells you which one a sentence wants. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the noun form. Build it as mɪ-SJUS, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “misuse” have?
2: mɪ · sjus. The beat lands on the second, “sjus”.
Which pronunciation of “misuse” is correct?
Both are. /mɪsˈjus/ (miss-YOOSS) as a noun; /mɪsˈjuz/ (miss-YOOZ) as a verb. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does, and the two are as different as any two words. Both appear here: “People misuse the word daily, and the misuse is now in dictionaries.”
Is “misuse” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /mɪsˈjus/ (miss-YOOSS); British English says /mɪsˈjuːs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “misuse” mean?
As a noun: improper or excessive use For example: “alcohol abuse” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “misuse”?
Stress the second syllable: mɪ-SJUS. “sjus” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “misuse” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.