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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “ambivalence”

“ambivalence” is pronounced /æmˈbɪvələns/ (am-BI-vuh-luhns) in American English and /ambɪvələns/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “bɪ”.
The sound

Say “ambivalence” in 4 beats

Say it like this

ambivalence

/æmˈbɪvələns/

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

4 beats
  1. æmæm
  2. bɪbɪstress
  3. vəvə
  4. lənsləns
IPA (American)
/æmˈbɪvələns/
IPA (British)
/ambɪvələns/
Respelling
am-BI-vuh-luhns
Syllables
4 — æm-BꞮ-və-ləns
Stress
Stress the second syllable: æm-BꞮ-və-ləns. “bɪ” 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

/æmˈbɪvələns/

British

/ambɪvələns/

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

Meaning

What “ambivalence” means

  1. noun

    mixed feelings or emotions

Say it in a sentence

“His ambivalence about the move made the whole family uneasy.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
æshort ammbbɪshort ivvəschwa×2llnnss

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

Questions

“ambivalence”, answered

How do you pronounce “ambivalence”?

“ambivalence” is pronounced /æmˈbɪvələns/ (am-BI-vuh-luhns) in American English and /ambɪvələns/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “bɪ”. Build it as æm-BꞮ-və-ləns, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “ambivalence” have?

4: æm · bɪ · və · ləns. The beat lands on the second, “bɪ”.

Is “ambivalence” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /æmˈbɪvələns/ (am-BI-vuh-luhns); British English says /ambɪvələns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “ambivalence” mean?

As a noun: mixed feelings or emotions For example: “His ambivalence about the move made the whole family uneasy.”

Where is the stress in “ambivalence”?

Stress the second syllable: æm-BꞮ-və-ləns. “bɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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