Pronunciation

How to pronounce “authorise

“authorise” is pronounced /ˈɔθəˌɹaɪz/ (AW-thuh-ryze) in American English and /ˈɔːθəɹaɪz/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɔ”.
The sound

Say “authorise” in 3 beats

Say it like this

authorise

/ˈɔθəˌɹaɪz/

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

3 beats
  1. ɔɔstress
  2. θəθə
  3. ɹaɪzɹaɪz
IPA (American)
/ˈɔθəˌɹaɪz/
IPA (British)
/ˈɔːθəɹaɪz/
Respelling
AW-thuh-ryze
Syllables
3 — Ɔ-θə-ɹaɪz
Stress
Stress the first syllable: Ɔ-θə-ɹaɪz. “ɔ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɔθəˌɹaɪz/

British

/ˈɔːθəɹaɪz/

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

Watch out

Where “authorise” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    aw-THOR-yze

    the stress is on AW, the first syllable

Meaning

What “authorise” means

  1. verb

    give or delegate power or authority to

    She authorized her assistant to sign the papers

  2. verb

    grant authorization or clearance for

    Clear the manuscript for publication

Say it in a sentence

Only the head of department can authorise a refund.
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

authorise”, answered

How do you pronounce “authorise”?

“authorise” is pronounced /ˈɔθəˌɹaɪz/ (AW-thuh-ryze) in American English and /ˈɔːθəɹaɪz/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɔ”. Build it as Ɔ-θə-ɹaɪz, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “authorise” have?

3: ɔ · θə · ɹaɪz. The beat lands on the first, “ɔ”.

Is “authorise” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɔθəˌɹaɪz/ (AW-thuh-ryze); British English says /ˈɔːθəɹaɪz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “authorise” mean?

As a verb: give or delegate power or authority to For example: “She authorized her assistant to sign the papers” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “authorise”?

Stress the first syllable: Ɔ-θə-ɹaɪz. “ɔ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “authorise” 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.