The word "defats" may seem confusing due to its mixture of sounds. However, when broken down using IPA phonetic transcription, its spelling becomes clearer. The first sound is "d" followed by a schwa sound, represented as "ə". The next two sounds are the long "e" vowel sound, written as "i", and the "f" sound. Finally, there is the short "a" vowel sound, denoted as "æ", followed by the "ts" consonant blend, written as "ts". The resulting pronunciation is "diːfæts".