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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “accountability”

“accountability” is pronounced /əˈkaʊntəˌbɪlɪti/ (uh-KOWN-tuh-bi-li-tee) in American English and /ɐkaʊntəbɪlɪti/ in British English, and /əˈkaʊnəbɪlɪti/ is also accepted — 6 syllables, stressed on “coun”.
The sound

Say “accountability” in 6 beats

Say it like this

accountability

/əˈkaʊntəˌbɪlɪti/

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

6 beats
  1. acə
  2. counkaʊnstress
  3. tabtə
  4. ilbɪ
  5. itlɪ
  6. yti
IPA (American)
/əˈkaʊntəˌbɪlɪti/
IPA (British)
/ɐkaʊntəbɪlɪti/
Also accepted
/əˈkaʊnəbɪlɪti/
Respelling
uh-KOWN-tuh-bi-li-tee
Syllables
6 — ac-COUN-tab-il-it-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ac-COUN-tab-il-it-y. “coun” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/əˈkaʊntəˌbɪlɪti/

British

/ɐkaʊntəbɪlɪti/

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

Meaning

What “accountability” means

  1. noun

    responsibility to someone or for some activity

Say it in a sentence

“Clear accountability stopped the same mistake recurring.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
əschwa×2kkaʊownntt×2bbɪshort i×2llilong e

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

Questions

“accountability”, answered

How do you pronounce “accountability”?

“accountability” is pronounced /əˈkaʊntəˌbɪlɪti/ (uh-KOWN-tuh-bi-li-tee) in American English and /ɐkaʊntəbɪlɪti/ in British English, and /əˈkaʊnəbɪlɪti/ is also accepted — 6 syllables, stressed on “coun”. Build it as ac-COUN-tab-il-it-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “accountability” have?

6: ac · coun · tab · il · it · y. The beat lands on the second, “coun”.

Is “accountability” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /əˈkaʊntəˌbɪlɪti/ (uh-KOWN-tuh-bi-li-tee); British English says /ɐkaʊntəbɪlɪti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “accountability” mean?

As a noun: responsibility to someone or for some activity For example: “Clear accountability stopped the same mistake recurring.”

Where is the stress in “accountability”?

Stress the second syllable: ac-COUN-tab-il-it-y. “coun” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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