Pronunciation

How to pronounce “aspersion

“aspersion” is pronounced /əˈspɝʒən/ (uh-SPUR-zhuhn) in American English and /ɐspɜːʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “per”.
The sound

Say “aspersion” in 3 beats

Say it like this

aspersion

/əˈspɝʒən/

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

3 beats
  1. asə
  2. perspɝstress
  3. sionʒən
IPA (American)
/əˈspɝʒən/
IPA (British)
/ɐspɜːʃən/
Respelling
uh-SPUR-zhuhn
Syllables
3 — as-PER-sion
Stress
Stress the second syllable: as-PER-sion. “per” 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

/əˈspɝʒən/

British

/ɐspɜːʃən/

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

Meaning

What “aspersion” means

  1. noun

    a disparaging remark

    in the 19th century any reference to female sexuality was considered a vile aspersion

  2. noun

    an abusive attack on a person's character or good name

  3. noun

    the act of sprinkling water in baptism (rare)

Say it in a sentence

He cast an aspersion on her honesty and then apologised.
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

aspersion”, answered

How do you pronounce “aspersion”?

“aspersion” is pronounced /əˈspɝʒən/ (uh-SPUR-zhuhn) in American English and /ɐspɜːʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “per”. Build it as as-PER-sion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “aspersion” have?

3: as · per · sion. The beat lands on the second, “per”.

Is “aspersion” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /əˈspɝʒən/ (uh-SPUR-zhuhn); British English says /ɐspɜːʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “aspersion” mean?

As a noun: a disparaging remark For example: “in the 19th century any reference to female sexuality was considered a vile aspersion” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “aspersion”?

Stress the second syllable: as-PER-sion. “per” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “aspersion” and see every sound

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