Pronunciation

How to pronounce “assure

“assure” is pronounced /əˈʃʊɹ/ (uh-SHUUR) in American English and /əʃʊə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ʃʊɹ”.
The sound

Say “assure” in 2 beats

Say it like this

assure

/əˈʃʊɹ/

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

2 beats
  1. əə
  2. ʃʊɹʃʊɹstress
IPA (American)
/əˈʃʊɹ/
IPA (British)
/əʃʊə/
Respelling
uh-SHUUR
Syllables
2 — ə-ƩƱɹ
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ə-ƩƱɹ. “ʃʊɹ” 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

/əˈʃʊɹ/

British

/əʃʊə/

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

Meaning

What “assure” means

  1. verb

    make certain of

    This nest egg will ensure a nice retirement for us

  2. verb

    inform positively and with certainty and confidence

    I tell you that man is a crook!

  3. verb

    assure somebody of the truth of something with the intention of giving the listener confidence

    I assured him that traveling to Cambodia was safe

Say it in a sentence

I can assure you the parcel was posted on Monday.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

assure”, answered

How do you pronounce “assure”?

“assure” is pronounced /əˈʃʊɹ/ (uh-SHUUR) in American English and /əʃʊə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ʃʊɹ”. Build it as ə-ƩƱɹ, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “assure” have?

2: ə · ʃʊɹ. The beat lands on the second, “ʃʊɹ”.

Is “assure” said differently in British English?

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

What does “assure” mean?

As a verb: make certain of For example: “This nest egg will ensure a nice retirement for us” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “assure”?

Stress the second syllable: ə-ƩƱɹ. “ʃʊɹ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “assure” 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.