How to pronounce “abeyance”
Say “abeyance” in 3 beats
abeyance
/əˈbeɪəns/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɐbeɪəns/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- abə
- eyanbeɪstress
- ceəns
- IPA (American)
- /əˈbeɪəns/
- IPA (British)
- /ɐbeɪəns/
- Respelling
- uh-BAY-uhns
- Syllables
- 3 — ab-EYAN-ce
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ab-EYAN-ce. “eyan” 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
American and British are not the same here
/əˈbeɪəns/
/ɐbeɪəns/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “abeyance” means
- noun
temporary cessation or suspension
Say it in a sentence
“The building plans were held in abeyance until the survey came back.”“abeyance”, answered
How do you pronounce “abeyance”?
“abeyance” is pronounced /əˈbeɪəns/ (uh-BAY-uhns) in American English and /ɐbeɪəns/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “eyan”. Build it as ab-EYAN-ce, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “abeyance” have?
3: ab · eyan · ce. The beat lands on the second, “eyan”.
Is “abeyance” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /əˈbeɪəns/ (uh-BAY-uhns); British English says /ɐbeɪəns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “abeyance” mean?
As a noun: temporary cessation or suspension For example: “The building plans were held in abeyance until the survey came back.”
Where is the stress in “abeyance”?
Stress the second syllable: ab-EYAN-ce. “eyan” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “abeyance” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.