How to pronounce “ambitious”
Say “ambitious” in 3 beats
ambitious
/æmˈbɪʃəs/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ambɪʃəs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- amæm
- bitbɪstress
- iousʃəs
- IPA (American)
- /æmˈbɪʃəs/
- IPA (British)
- /ambɪʃəs/
- Respelling
- am-BI-shuhs
- Syllables
- 3 — am-BIT-ious
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: am-BIT-ious. “bit” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/æmˈbɪʃəs/
/ambɪʃəs/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “ambitious” means
- adjective
having a strong desire for success or achievement
- adjective
requiring full use of your abilities or resources
“ambitious schedule”
Say it in a sentence
“The plan was ambitious but the funding never arrived.”“ambitious”, answered
How do you pronounce “ambitious”?
“ambitious” is pronounced /æmˈbɪʃəs/ (am-BI-shuhs) in American English and /ambɪʃəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “bit”. Build it as am-BIT-ious, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “ambitious” have?
3: am · bit · ious. The beat lands on the second, “bit”.
Is “ambitious” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /æmˈbɪʃəs/ (am-BI-shuhs); British English says /ambɪʃəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “ambitious” mean?
As an adjective: having a strong desire for success or achievement For example: “The plan was ambitious but the funding never arrived.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “ambitious”?
Stress the second syllable: am-BIT-ious. “bit” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “ambitious” 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.