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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “complexity”

“complexity” is pronounced /kəmˈplɛksəti/ (kuhm-PLEK-suh-tee) in American English and /kəmplɛksɪti/ in British English, and /kəmˈplɛksɪti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “lex”.
The sound

Say “complexity” in 4 beats

Say it like this

complexity

/kəmˈplɛksəti/

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

4 beats
  1. compkəm
  2. lexplɛkstress
  3. itsə
  4. yti
IPA (American)
/kəmˈplɛksəti/
IPA (British)
/kəmplɛksɪti/
Also accepted
/kəmˈplɛksɪti/
Respelling
kuhm-PLEK-suh-tee
Syllables
4 — comp-LEX-it-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: comp-LEX-it-y. “lex” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kəmˈplɛksəti/

British

/kəmplɛksɪti/

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

Meaning

What “complexity” means

  1. noun

    the quality of being intricate and compounded

    “he enjoyed the complexity of modern computers”

Say it in a sentence

“The complexity of the form put half the applicants off.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
kk×2əschwa×2mmppllɛshort essttilong e

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

Questions

“complexity”, answered

How do you pronounce “complexity”?

“complexity” is pronounced /kəmˈplɛksəti/ (kuhm-PLEK-suh-tee) in American English and /kəmplɛksɪti/ in British English, and /kəmˈplɛksɪti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “lex”. Build it as comp-LEX-it-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “complexity” have?

4: comp · lex · it · y. The beat lands on the second, “lex”.

Is “complexity” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kəmˈplɛksəti/ (kuhm-PLEK-suh-tee); British English says /kəmplɛksɪti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “complexity” mean?

As a noun: the quality of being intricate and compounded For example: “he enjoyed the complexity of modern computers”

Where is the stress in “complexity”?

Stress the second syllable: comp-LEX-it-y. “lex” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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