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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “benevolent”

“benevolent” is pronounced /bəˈnɛvələnt/ (buh-NE-vuh-luhnt) in American English and /bənɛvələnt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “ev”.
The sound

Say “benevolent” in 4 beats

Say it like this

benevolent

/bəˈnɛvələnt/

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

4 beats
  1. benbə
  2. evnɛstress
  3. olvə
  4. entlənt
IPA (American)
/bəˈnɛvələnt/
IPA (British)
/bənɛvələnt/
Respelling
buh-NE-vuh-luhnt
Syllables
4 — ben-EV-ol-ent
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ben-EV-ol-ent. “ev” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/bəˈnɛvələnt/

British

/bənɛvələnt/

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

Meaning

What “benevolent” means

  1. adjective

    intending or showing kindness

    “a benevolent society”

  2. adjective

    showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity

    “was charitable in his opinions of others”

  3. adjective

    generous in providing aid to others

Say it in a sentence

“A benevolent stranger paid for our coffee and walked away.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
bbəschwa×3nn×2ɛshort evvlltt

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

Questions

“benevolent”, answered

How do you pronounce “benevolent”?

“benevolent” is pronounced /bəˈnɛvələnt/ (buh-NE-vuh-luhnt) in American English and /bənɛvələnt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “ev”. Build it as ben-EV-ol-ent, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “benevolent” have?

4: ben · ev · ol · ent. The beat lands on the second, “ev”.

Is “benevolent” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /bəˈnɛvələnt/ (buh-NE-vuh-luhnt); British English says /bənɛvələnt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “benevolent” mean?

As an adjective: intending or showing kindness For example: “a benevolent society” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “benevolent”?

Stress the second syllable: ben-EV-ol-ent. “ev” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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