Pronunciation

How to pronounce “avarice

“avarice” is pronounced /ˈævəɹɪs/ (AV-uh-riss) in American English and /ˈavəɹɪs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “æ”.
The sound

Say “avarice” in 3 beats

Say it like this

avarice

/ˈævəɹɪs/

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

3 beats
  1. ææstress
  2. ɹɪsɹɪs
IPA (American)
/ˈævəɹɪs/
IPA (British)
/ˈavəɹɪs/
Respelling
AV-uh-riss
Syllables
3 — Æ-və-ɹɪs
Stress
Stress the first syllable: Æ-və-ɹɪs. “æ” 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

/ˈævəɹɪs/

British

/ˈavəɹɪs/

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

Watch out

Where “avarice” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    uh-VAR-iss

    the stress is on the first syllable: AV-uh-riss

Meaning

What “avarice” means

  1. noun

    reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins)

  2. noun

    extreme greed for material wealth

Say it in a sentence

The novel treats avarice as a kind of slow illness.
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

avarice”, answered

How do you pronounce “avarice”?

“avarice” is pronounced /ˈævəɹɪs/ (AV-uh-riss) in American English and /ˈavəɹɪs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “æ”. Build it as Æ-və-ɹɪs, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “avarice” have?

3: æ · və · ɹɪs. The beat lands on the first, “æ”.

Is “avarice” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈævəɹɪs/ (AV-uh-riss); British English says /ˈavəɹɪs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “avarice” mean?

As a noun: reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins) For example: “The novel treats avarice as a kind of slow illness.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “avarice”?

Stress the first syllable: Æ-və-ɹɪs. “æ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “avarice” and see every sound

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