unstress

unstress — noun

1. A syllable in a word or line of verse that is said with little force, so it soun

1.nounC2
Definition

A syllable in a word or line of verse that is said with little force, so it sounds weaker than the stressed syllables around it.

Example

The teacher marked the first syllable of 'about' as an unstress.

mark a syllable as an unstress

In this poem, each unstress is followed by a strong beat.

pattern: unstress followed by stress

Common collocations
  • final unstress
  • middle unstress
  • mark an unstress
  • unstress before a beat
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

an unstress

mark + noun + as + an unstress

unstress + before/after + noun phrase

Usage Note

Used mainly in linguistics and poetry when people describe stress patterns in words or lines. Outside technical discussion, speakers more often say 'unstressed syllable' instead of using this noun by itself.

Common Mistakes

The second syllable has an unstress.
The second syllable is an unstress.
use 'unstress' for the weak syllable itself, not for the amount of emphasis.

Word family

Etymology

English

This technical noun was formed in English from the prefix 'un-' and the word 'stress'. It is used in phonetics and poetry for a syllable that does not carry the main emphasis.