Pronunciation

How to pronounce “ascend

“ascend” is pronounced /əˈsɛnd/ (uh-SEND) in American English and /ɐsɛnd/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “cend”.
The sound

Say “ascend” in 2 beats

Say it like this

ascend

/əˈsɛnd/

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

2 beats
  1. asə
  2. cendsɛndstress
IPA (American)
/əˈsɛnd/
IPA (British)
/ɐsɛnd/
Respelling
uh-SEND
Syllables
2 — as-CEND
Stress
Stress the second syllable: as-CEND. “cend” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/əˈsɛnd/

British

/ɐsɛnd/

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

Meaning

What “ascend” means

  1. verb

    travel up,

    We ascended the mountain

  2. verb

    go back in order of genealogical succession

    Inheritance may not ascend linearly

  3. verb

    become king or queen

    She ascended to the throne after the King's death

Say it in a sentence

We watched the balloon ascend until it was a small dot.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

ascend”, answered

How do you pronounce “ascend”?

“ascend” is pronounced /əˈsɛnd/ (uh-SEND) in American English and /ɐsɛnd/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “cend”. Build it as as-CEND, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “ascend” have?

2: as · cend. The beat lands on the second, “cend”.

Is “ascend” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /əˈsɛnd/ (uh-SEND); British English says /ɐsɛnd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “ascend” mean?

As a verb: travel up, For example: “We ascended the mountain” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “ascend”?

Stress the second syllable: as-CEND. “cend” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “ascend” 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.