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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “censure”

“censure” is pronounced /ˈsɛnʃɚ/ (SEN-shuh) in American English and /sɛnʃə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “sɛn”.
The sound

Say “censure” in 2 beats

Say it like this

censure

/ˈsɛnʃɚ/

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

2 beats
  1. sɛnsɛnstress
  2. ʃɚʃɚ
IPA (American)
/ˈsɛnʃɚ/
IPA (British)
/sɛnʃə/
Respelling
SEN-shuh
Syllables
2 — SƐN-ʃɚ
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SƐN-ʃɚ. “sɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈsɛnʃɚ/

British

/sɛnʃə/

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

Meaning

What “censure” means

  1. noun

    harsh criticism or disapproval

  2. noun

    the state of being excommunicated

  3. verb

    rebuke formally

Say it in a sentence

“The report ended with a mild censure of the department.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ssɛshort ennʃshɚschwa

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

Questions

“censure”, answered

How do you pronounce “censure”?

“censure” is pronounced /ˈsɛnʃɚ/ (SEN-shuh) in American English and /sɛnʃə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “sɛn”. Build it as SƐN-ʃɚ, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “censure” have?

2: sɛn · ʃɚ. The beat lands on the first, “sɛn”.

Is “censure” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈsɛnʃɚ/ (SEN-shuh); British English says /sɛnʃə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “censure” mean?

As a noun: harsh criticism or disapproval For example: “The report ended with a mild censure of the department.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “censure”?

Stress the first syllable: SƐN-ʃɚ. “sɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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