woollymindedness
Syllables
wool-ly-mind-ed-ness
Pronunciation
/ˈwʊli ˈmaɪndɪd nəs/
Stress
10100
Morphemes
mind + ed, ly, ness
The word 'woolly-mindedness' is divided into five syllables: wool-ly-mind-ed-ness. The primary stress falls on 'mind'. It's a noun formed from the compound adjective 'woolly-minded' and the suffix '-ness'. Syllabification follows standard US English rules based on vowel sounds and suffix boundaries.
Definitions
- 1
A state of being vague, unfocused, or lacking in clear thought; a tendency to be impractical or idealistic.
“His woolly-mindedness prevented him from making a sound financial decision.”
Stress pattern
Primary stress falls on the third syllable ('mind').
Syllables
wool — Open syllable, vowel followed by /l/.. ly — Open syllable, vowel sound.. mind — Diphthong followed by consonant cluster.. ed — Reduced vowel + consonant.. ness — Nasal consonant + schwa.
Word Parts
Vowel-Consonant (VC) Rule
Syllables generally end with a vowel sound.
Vowel-Consonant-Coda (VCC) Rule
Syllables can end with consonant clusters, but are still based around a vowel nucleus.
Complex Onset Rule
Consonant clusters at the beginning of a syllable are permissible.
Suffix Rule
Suffixes generally form separate syllables.
Diphthong Rule
Diphthongs form a single syllable nucleus.
- The compound adjective 'woolly-minded' is treated as a single unit for stress assignment.
- The reduction of the '-ed' suffix to /ɪd/ is a common phonetic phenomenon.
Nearby Words
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