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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “academic”

“academic” is pronounced /ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/ (a-kuh-DE-mik) in American English and /akədɛmɪk/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “em”.
The sound

Say “academic” in 4 beats

Say it like this

academic

/ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/

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

4 beats
  1. acæ
  2. adkə
  3. emdɛstress
  4. icmɪk
IPA (American)
/ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/
IPA (British)
/akədɛmɪk/
Respelling
a-kuh-DE-mik
Syllables
4 — ac-ad-EM-ic
Stress
Stress the third syllable: ac-ad-EM-ic. “em” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/

British

/akədɛmɪk/

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

Meaning

What “academic” means

  1. noun

    an educator who works at a college or university

  2. adjective

    associated with academia or an academy

    “the academic curriculum”

  3. adjective

    hypothetical or theoretical and not expected to produce an immediate or practical result

    “an academic discussion”

Say it in a sentence

“Her academic work focuses on rivers and flood management.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
æshort akk×2əschwaddɛshort emmɪshort i

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

Questions

“academic”, answered

How do you pronounce “academic”?

“academic” is pronounced /ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/ (a-kuh-DE-mik) in American English and /akədɛmɪk/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “em”. Build it as ac-ad-EM-ic, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “academic” have?

4: ac · ad · em · ic. The beat lands on the third, “em”.

Is “academic” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/ (a-kuh-DE-mik); British English says /akədɛmɪk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “academic” mean?

As a noun: an educator who works at a college or university For example: “Her academic work focuses on rivers and flood management.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “academic”?

Stress the third syllable: ac-ad-EM-ic. “em” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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