What is the definition of unstressed syllable?

Answer 1

Every word has one syllable which carries the main stress or emphasis. This refers to the degree of emphasis in your voice when you say the word aloud. Words of two or more syllables also contain unstressed syllables; that is, syllables that you do not emphasise when you say them aloud. Longer words may also have syllables which carry a degree of stress somewhere between those two extremes, which are known as secondary or subsidiary stressed syllables.

For example, if you say the word 'anywhere' aloud, you will probably find that you emphasise the first syllable and neither of the other two. Thus, 'an' (pronounced 'en') is a stressed syllable, and 'y' and 'where' are unstressed syllables.

If you take the word 'understanding', the main stress is on the syllable 'stand', and the other syllables are unstressed, although you might decide that 'un' takes a secondary stress.

The degree of stress that you give to different syllables may vary according to circumstances, for example if you are angry or excited, or if you are reciting poetry.

Some speakers emphasise some words differently from other speakers. For example, the stress in the word 'research' occurs on the second syllable, but some people when saying it aloud stress the first syllable. Thus, the definition of an unstressed syllable in a certain word may vary: it may be the dictionary definition, which is intrinsic, or it may be the definition that applies to the word as spoken by a particular speaker, which is extrinsic.

Answer 2

It means that when you speak, they are the syllables you do NOT stress or push; for example, if you say animal, it is AN-ih-mal. "ih" and "mal" would be the unstressed syllables.

(Also, in Shakespeare, he writes in iambic pentameter, which are 10-syllable lines that are STRESSED-unstressed-STRESSED-unstressed etc.) Hope this helps!