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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “autonomy”

“autonomy” is pronounced /ɔˈtɑnəmi/ (aw-TAH-nuh-mee) in American English and /ɔːtɒnəmi/ in British English, and /əˈtɑnəmi/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “on”.
The sound

Say “autonomy” in 4 beats

Say it like this

autonomy

/ɔˈtɑnəmi/

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

4 beats
  1. autɔ
  2. ontɑstress
  3. omnə
  4. ymi
IPA (American)
/ɔˈtɑnəmi/
IPA (British)
/ɔːtɒnəmi/
Also accepted
/əˈtɑnəmi/
Respelling
aw-TAH-nuh-mee
Syllables
4 — aut-ON-om-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: aut-ON-om-y. “on” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɔˈtɑnəmi/

British

/ɔːtɒnəmi/

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

Meaning

What “autonomy” means

  1. noun

    immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence

  2. noun

    personal independence

Say it in a sentence

“Teachers here are given real autonomy over their own lessons.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ɔawttɑahnnəschwammilong e

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“autonomy”, answered

How do you pronounce “autonomy”?

“autonomy” is pronounced /ɔˈtɑnəmi/ (aw-TAH-nuh-mee) in American English and /ɔːtɒnəmi/ in British English, and /əˈtɑnəmi/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “on”. Build it as aut-ON-om-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “autonomy” have?

4: aut · on · om · y. The beat lands on the second, “on”.

Is “autonomy” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɔˈtɑnəmi/ (aw-TAH-nuh-mee); British English says /ɔːtɒnəmi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “autonomy” mean?

As a noun: immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence For example: “Teachers here are given real autonomy over their own lessons.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “autonomy”?

Stress the second syllable: aut-ON-om-y. “on” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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