sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “cumulative”

“cumulative” is pronounced /ˈkjumjələtɪv/ (KYOO-myuh-luh-tiv) in American English and /kjuːmjʊlətɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “kju”.
The sound

Say “cumulative” in 4 beats

Say it like this

cumulative

/ˈkjumjələtɪv/

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

4 beats
  1. kjukjustress
  2. mjəmjə
  3. lələ
  4. tɪvtɪv
IPA (American)
/ˈkjumjələtɪv/
IPA (British)
/kjuːmjʊlətɪv/
Respelling
KYOO-myuh-luh-tiv
Syllables
4 — KJU-mjə-lə-tɪv
Stress
Stress the first syllable: KJU-mjə-lə-tɪv. “kju” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈkjumjələtɪv/

British

/kjuːmjʊlətɪv/

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

Meaning

What “cumulative” means

  1. adjective

    increasing by successive addition

    “the benefits are cumulative”

Say it in a sentence

“The cumulative effect of small savings surprised them both.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
kkjy×2ulong oomməschwa×2llttɪshort ivv

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

Questions

“cumulative”, answered

How do you pronounce “cumulative”?

“cumulative” is pronounced /ˈkjumjələtɪv/ (KYOO-myuh-luh-tiv) in American English and /kjuːmjʊlətɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “kju”. Build it as KJU-mjə-lə-tɪv, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “cumulative” have?

4: kju · mjə · lə · tɪv. The beat lands on the first, “kju”.

Is “cumulative” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈkjumjələtɪv/ (KYOO-myuh-luh-tiv); British English says /kjuːmjʊlətɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “cumulative” mean?

As an adjective: increasing by successive addition For example: “the benefits are cumulative”

Where is the stress in “cumulative”?

Stress the first syllable: KJU-mjə-lə-tɪv. “kju” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “cumulative” 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.

Practise this word freeMore words with C