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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “deliberate”

“deliberate” is pronounced /dɪˈlɪbɚət/ (di-LI-buh-uht) in American English and /dɪlɪbəɹət/ in British English, and /dɪˈlɪbɚˌeɪt/ and /dɪˈlɪbɹət/ are also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “lɪ”.
The sound

Say “deliberate” in 4 beats

Say it like this

deliberate

/dɪˈlɪbɚət/

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

4 beats
  1. dɪdɪ
  2. lɪlɪstress
  3. bɚbɚ
  4. ətət
IPA (American)
/dɪˈlɪbɚət/
IPA (British)
/dɪlɪbəɹət/
Also accepted
/dɪˈlɪbɚˌeɪt/
Also accepted
/dɪˈlɪbɹət/
Respelling
di-LI-buh-uht
Syllables
4 — dɪ-LꞮ-bɚ-ət
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dɪ-LꞮ-bɚ-ət. “lɪ” 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

/dɪˈlɪbɚət/

British

/dɪlɪbəɹət/

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

Meaning

What “deliberate” means

  1. verb

    think about carefully; weigh

    “They considered the possibility of a strike”

  2. verb

    discuss the pros and cons of an issue

  3. adjective

    carefully thought out in advance

    “a calculated insult”

Say it in a sentence

“That was a deliberate choice, not an accident at all.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ddɪshort i×2llbbɚschwa×2tt

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

Questions

“deliberate”, answered

How do you pronounce “deliberate”?

“deliberate” is pronounced /dɪˈlɪbɚət/ (di-LI-buh-uht) in American English and /dɪlɪbəɹət/ in British English, and /dɪˈlɪbɚˌeɪt/ and /dɪˈlɪbɹət/ are also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “lɪ”. Build it as dɪ-LꞮ-bɚ-ət, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “deliberate” have?

4: dɪ · lɪ · bɚ · ət. The beat lands on the second, “lɪ”.

Is “deliberate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˈlɪbɚət/ (di-LI-buh-uht); British English says /dɪlɪbəɹət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “deliberate” mean?

As a verb: think about carefully; weigh For example: “They considered the possibility of a strike” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “deliberate”?

Stress the second syllable: dɪ-LꞮ-bɚ-ət. “lɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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