How to pronounce “defendant”
Say “defendant” in 3 beats
defendant
/dɪˈfɛndənt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /dɪfɛndənt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- defdɪ
- enfɛnstress
- dantdənt
- IPA (American)
- /dɪˈfɛndənt/
- IPA (British)
- /dɪfɛndənt/
- Respelling
- di-FEN-duhnt
- Syllables
- 3 — def-EN-dant
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: def-EN-dant. “en” 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
American and British are not the same here
/dɪˈfɛndənt/
/dɪfɛndənt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “defendant” means
- noun
a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused
Say it in a sentence
“The defendant answered every question quietly and clearly.”“defendant”, answered
How do you pronounce “defendant”?
“defendant” is pronounced /dɪˈfɛndənt/ (di-FEN-duhnt) in American English and /dɪfɛndənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “en”. Build it as def-EN-dant, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “defendant” have?
3: def · en · dant. The beat lands on the second, “en”.
Is “defendant” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /dɪˈfɛndənt/ (di-FEN-duhnt); British English says /dɪfɛndənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “defendant” mean?
As a noun: a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused For example: “The defendant answered every question quietly and clearly.”
Where is the stress in “defendant”?
Stress the second syllable: def-EN-dant. “en” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “defendant” 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.