PRONUNCIATION / Creative work

How to pronounce awry

Check awry pronunciation with CMUdict sound tokens and stress, then practise two original sentences and download a voiceover audition worksheet.

The dictionary sound sequence

CMUdict lists this North American English pronunciation for awry. Read each sequence from left to right. The numbers mark vowel stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

Dictionary variant 1

ER0 AY1

Syllable estimate: 2 vowel nuclei
Primary stress: 2nd vowel position

Check awry in Merriam-Webster and listen to available dictionary audio.

Syllable counts come from vowel tokens; CMUdict does not supply syllable boundaries here. Variant order follows the dictionary and does not rank correctness. This lexicon does not represent every accent or context.

Use awry in context

Awry describes something that has gone wrong or moved away from its expected course. It works in plot summaries, personal stories, and accounts of plans unraveling. The delivery can be comic or serious, but should follow the scale of the consequence established in the surrounding scene.

The rehearsal went awry when the lights failed.
Her carefully arranged timetable began to go awry after lunch.

Read the sound tokens

Each example word below is a cue for the named sound, rather than a respelling of awry. Unstressed vowels may sound reduced. These cues follow the CMU phoneme-set key (Appendix A).

ERsound in hurtvowel

AYsound in hidevowel

TAKE IT TO YOUR NEXT RECORDING

Make an audition worksheet

Select a dictionary variant for your checklist. The two original sentences retain their normal spelling; this worksheet helps you review a recording rather than forcing a speech engine to use phonemes.

Worksheet pronunciation variant

Your plain-text audition worksheet

How to pronounce awry

Word: awry
Dictionary variant: 1 of 1
CMUdict ARPABET: ER0 AY1
Vowel nuclei / estimated syllables: 2
Primary stress: 2nd vowel position

ORIGINAL AUDITION SCRIPT
The rehearsal went awry when the lights failed.
Her carefully arranged timetable began to go awry after lunch.

REVIEW CHECKLIST
[ ] Read both sentences naturally; keep the source wording.
[ ] Compare the intended pronunciation with the selected dictionary variant.
[ ] Listen for vowel sounds, consonants, and word stress in context.
[ ] Check with a speaker or another dictionary when accent or meaning matters.
[ ] Generate and listen to a short Murmur sample before exporting the full script.

Practice note: Audition awry with the verb phrase that precedes it, such as went awry. Listen across the point where the plan changes, and compare a light delivery with a serious one to match the actual consequences in the story.

CMUdict is a North American English lexicon, not a recording or a complete accent guide.
Variant order is dictionary order; it is not a ranking of correctness.
Source: https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict/blob/74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690/cmudict.dict
Source commit: 74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690
License: https://www.murmurtts.com/downloads/cmudict-license.txt
Reference: https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation/awry

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Dictionary source

The phonemes on this page come from CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. The dictionary maintainers acknowledge that errors and omissions can remain; check another source or a speaker when the pronunciation matters.

CMUdict README · Included dictionary license

Source version and checksum

Commit: 74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690

Dictionary SHA-256: 81917843c7f44ce2b094ac63873c2c7a4cf802040792c455ba3ca406891c3d22

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