Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

awry

/əˈɹaɪ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English

Syllables: awry
IPA: /əˈɹaɪ/

10

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

Obliquely, crookedly; askew.

adv

Perversely, improperly.

adj

Turned or twisted toward one side; crooked, distorted, out of place; wry.

adj

Wrong or distorted; perverse, amiss, off course

Example Sentences

"The frame was awry."
"There is something awry with this story."
"It came inside 50 minutes and moments later Cavani should have had a 12th. Pogba and Shaw combined before the left-back’s cross teed up the striker but his radar was awry."

Etymology

From Middle English awry, awrie. By surface analysis, a- + wry.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *wreyḱ-, awry

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /əˈɹaɪ/
British English: /əˈɹaɪ/

Inflected Forms

more awry (comparative) most awry (superlative)

Derived Forms

awryness

Phrases

go awry

Synonyms

wonky amiss haywire wrong askew cockeyed lopsided skew-whiff

Rhymes With

by my why high try guy buy july drive-by die eye hi

Questions

How do you pronounce awry?: The recorded pronunciation is /əˈɹaɪ/.
What does awry mean?: Obliquely, crookedly; askew.
Where does awry come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce awry

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “awry”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/əˈɹaɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “awry”.
Repeat and practice — Say “awry” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.