Pronunciation

How to pronounce “artless

“artless” is pronounced /ˈɑɹtləs/ (ART-luhs) in American English and /ˈɑːtləs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “art”.
The sound

Say “artless” in 2 beats

Say it like this

artless

/ˈɑɹtləs/

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

2 beats
  1. artɑɹstress
  2. lesstləs
IPA (American)
/ˈɑɹtləs/
IPA (British)
/ˈɑːtləs/
Respelling
ART-luhs
Syllables
2 — ART-less
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ART-less. “art” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɑɹtləs/

British

/ˈɑːtləs/

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

Watch out

Where “artless” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    art-LESS

    the stress is on ART and the ending reduces to -luhs

Meaning

What “artless” means

  1. adjective

    characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious

    an ingenuous admission of responsibility

  2. adjective

    simple and natural; without cunning or deceit

    an artless manner

  3. adjective

    showing lack of art

    an artless translation

Say it in a sentence

There was an artless honesty in the way she answered.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

artless”, answered

How do you pronounce “artless”?

“artless” is pronounced /ˈɑɹtləs/ (ART-luhs) in American English and /ˈɑːtləs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “art”. Build it as ART-less, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “artless” have?

2: art · less. The beat lands on the first, “art”.

Is “artless” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɑɹtləs/ (ART-luhs); British English says /ˈɑːtləs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “artless” mean?

As an adjective: characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious For example: “an ingenuous admission of responsibility” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “artless”?

Stress the first syllable: ART-less. “art” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “artless” 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.