How to pronounce “authoritative”
Say “authoritative” in 5 beats
authoritative
/əˈθɔɹəˌteɪtɪv/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɔːθɒɹɪtətɪv/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- əə
- θɔθɔstress
- ɹəɹə
- teɪteɪ
- tɪvtɪv
- IPA (American)
- /əˈθɔɹəˌteɪtɪv/
- IPA (British)
- /ɔːθɒɹɪtətɪv/
- Respelling
- uh-THAW-ruh-tay-tiv
- Syllables
- 5 — ə-ΘƆ-ɹə-teɪ-tɪv
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ə-ΘƆ-ɹə-teɪ-tɪv. “θɔ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/əˈθɔɹəˌteɪtɪv/
/ɔːθɒɹɪtətɪv/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “authoritative” means
- adjective
having authority or ascendancy or influence
“an important official”
- adjective
of recognized authority or excellence
“the definitive work on Greece”
- adjective
sanctioned by established authority
“an authoritative communique”
Say it in a sentence
“The book remains the authoritative account of that decade.”“authoritative”, answered
How do you pronounce “authoritative”?
“authoritative” is pronounced /əˈθɔɹəˌteɪtɪv/ (uh-THAW-ruh-tay-tiv) in American English and /ɔːθɒɹɪtətɪv/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “θɔ”. Build it as ə-ΘƆ-ɹə-teɪ-tɪv, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “authoritative” have?
5: ə · θɔ · ɹə · teɪ · tɪv. The beat lands on the second, “θɔ”.
Is “authoritative” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /əˈθɔɹəˌteɪtɪv/ (uh-THAW-ruh-tay-tiv); British English says /ɔːθɒɹɪtətɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “authoritative” mean?
As an adjective: having authority or ascendancy or influence For example: “an important official” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “authoritative”?
Stress the second syllable: ə-ΘƆ-ɹə-teɪ-tɪv. “θɔ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “authoritative” 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.