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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “compelling”

“compelling” is pronounced /kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/ (kuhm-PE-ling) in American English and /kəmpɛlɪŋ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “pel”.
The sound

Say “compelling” in 3 beats

Say it like this

compelling

/kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/

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

3 beats
  1. comkəm
  2. pelpɛstress
  3. linglɪŋ
IPA (American)
/kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/
IPA (British)
/kəmpɛlɪŋ/
Respelling
kuhm-PE-ling
Syllables
3 — com-PEL-ling
Stress
Stress the second syllable: com-PEL-ling. “pel” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/

British

/kəmpɛlɪŋ/

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

Meaning

What “compelling” means

  1. verb

    force somebody to do something

    “We compel all students to fill out this form”

  2. verb

    necessitate or exact

    “the water shortage compels conservation”

  3. adjective

    driving or forcing

    “compelling ambition”

Say it in a sentence

“She gave a compelling reason for leaving the job early.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
kkəschwammppɛshort ellɪshort iŋng

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

Questions

“compelling”, answered

How do you pronounce “compelling”?

“compelling” is pronounced /kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/ (kuhm-PE-ling) in American English and /kəmpɛlɪŋ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “pel”. Build it as com-PEL-ling, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “compelling” have?

3: com · pel · ling. The beat lands on the second, “pel”.

Is “compelling” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/ (kuhm-PE-ling); British English says /kəmpɛlɪŋ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “compelling” mean?

As a verb: force somebody to do something For example: “We compel all students to fill out this form” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “compelling”?

Stress the second syllable: com-PEL-ling. “pel” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “compelling” and see every sound

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