How to pronounce “comprehensive”
Say “comprehensive” in 4 beats
comprehensive
/ˌkɑmpɹiˈhɛnsɪv/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kɒmpɹɪhɛnsɪv/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- kɑmkɑm
- pɹipɹi
- hɛnhɛnstress
- sɪvsɪv
- IPA (American)
- /ˌkɑmpɹiˈhɛnsɪv/
- IPA (British)
- /kɒmpɹɪhɛnsɪv/
- Respelling
- kahm-pree-HEN-siv
- Syllables
- 4 — kɑm-pɹi-HƐN-sɪv
- Stress
- Stress the third syllable: kɑm-pɹi-HƐN-sɪv. “hɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˌkɑmpɹiˈhɛnsɪv/
/kɒmpɹɪhɛnsɪv/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “comprehensive” means
- noun
an intensive examination testing a student's proficiency in some special field of knowledge
“she took her comps in English literature”
- adjective
including all or everything
“comprehensive coverage”
- adjective
broad in scope
“a comprehensive survey of world affairs”
Say it in a sentence
“She sat her comprehensive in June and passed it easily.”“comprehensive”, answered
How do you pronounce “comprehensive”?
“comprehensive” is pronounced /ˌkɑmpɹiˈhɛnsɪv/ (kahm-pree-HEN-siv) in American English and /kɒmpɹɪhɛnsɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “hɛn”. Build it as kɑm-pɹi-HƐN-sɪv, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “comprehensive” have?
4: kɑm · pɹi · hɛn · sɪv. The beat lands on the third, “hɛn”.
Is “comprehensive” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌkɑmpɹiˈhɛnsɪv/ (kahm-pree-HEN-siv); British English says /kɒmpɹɪhɛnsɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “comprehensive” mean?
As a noun: an intensive examination testing a student's proficiency in some special field of knowledge For example: “she took her comps in English literature” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “comprehensive”?
Stress the third syllable: kɑm-pɹi-HƐN-sɪv. “hɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “comprehensive” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.