Pronunciation

How to pronounce “aberration

“aberration” is pronounced /ˌæbɚˈeɪʃən/ (a-buh-AY-shuhn) in American English and /abəɹeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rat”.
The sound

Say “aberration” in 4 beats

Say it like this

aberration

/ˌæbɚˈeɪʃən/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /abəɹeɪʃən/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

4 beats
  1. abæ
  2. er
  3. ratstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌæbɚˈeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/abəɹeɪʃən/
Respelling
a-buh-AY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — ab-er-RAT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: ab-er-RAT-ion. “rat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌæbɚˈeɪʃən/

British

/abəɹeɪʃən/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “aberration” means

  1. noun

    a state or condition markedly different from the norm

  2. noun

    a disorder in one's mental state

  3. noun

    an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image

Say it in a sentence

The warm February was an aberration, not a sign of anything permanent.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

aberration”, answered

How do you pronounce “aberration”?

“aberration” is pronounced /ˌæbɚˈeɪʃən/ (a-buh-AY-shuhn) in American English and /abəɹeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rat”. Build it as ab-er-RAT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “aberration” have?

4: ab · er · rat · ion. The beat lands on the third, “rat”.

Is “aberration” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌæbɚˈeɪʃən/ (a-buh-AY-shuhn); British English says /abəɹeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “aberration” mean?

As a noun: a state or condition markedly different from the norm For example: “The warm February was an aberration, not a sign of anything permanent.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “aberration”?

Stress the third syllable: ab-er-RAT-ion. “rat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “aberration” and see every sound

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