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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “circumscribe”

“circumscribe” is pronounced /ˌsɝkəmˈskɹaɪb/ (sur-kuhm-SKRYB) in American English and /sɜːkəmskɹaɪb/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “skɹaɪb”.
The sound

Say “circumscribe” in 3 beats

Say it like this

circumscribe

/ˌsɝkəmˈskɹaɪb/

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

3 beats
  1. sɝsɝ
  2. kəmkəm
  3. skɹaɪbskɹaɪbstress
IPA (American)
/ˌsɝkəmˈskɹaɪb/
IPA (British)
/sɜːkəmskɹaɪb/
Respelling
sur-kuhm-SKRYB
Syllables
3 — sɝ-kəm-SKɹAꞮB
Stress
Stress the third syllable: sɝ-kəm-SKɹAꞮB. “skɹaɪb” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌsɝkəmˈskɹaɪb/

British

/sɜːkəmskɹaɪb/

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

Meaning

What “circumscribe” means

  1. verb

    draw a line around

    “He drew a circle around the points”

  2. verb

    restrict or confine,

    “I limit you to two visits to the pub a day”

  3. verb

    to draw a geometric figure around another figure so that the two are in contact but do not intersect

Say it in a sentence

“The new rules circumscribe what volunteers are allowed to do.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
ss×2ɝerkk×2əschwammɹraɪlong ibb

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

Questions

“circumscribe”, answered

How do you pronounce “circumscribe”?

“circumscribe” is pronounced /ˌsɝkəmˈskɹaɪb/ (sur-kuhm-SKRYB) in American English and /sɜːkəmskɹaɪb/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “skɹaɪb”. Build it as sɝ-kəm-SKɹAꞮB, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “circumscribe” have?

3: sɝ · kəm · skɹaɪb. The beat lands on the third, “skɹaɪb”.

Is “circumscribe” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌsɝkəmˈskɹaɪb/ (sur-kuhm-SKRYB); British English says /sɜːkəmskɹaɪb/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “circumscribe” mean?

As a verb: draw a line around For example: “He drew a circle around the points” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “circumscribe”?

Stress the third syllable: sɝ-kəm-SKɹAꞮB. “skɹaɪb” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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