Pronunciation

How to pronounce “demonstrate

“demonstrate” is pronounced /ˈdɛmənˌstɹeɪt/ (DE-muhn-strayt) in American English and /dɛmənstɹeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɛ”.
The sound

Say “demonstrate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

demonstrate

/ˈdɛmənˌstɹeɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. stress
  2. mənmən
  3. stɹeɪtstɹeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈdɛmənˌstɹeɪt/
IPA (British)
/dɛmənstɹeɪt/
Respelling
DE-muhn-strayt
Syllables
3 — DƐ-mən-stɹeɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: DƐ-mən-stɹeɪt. “dɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈdɛmənˌstɹeɪt/

British

/dɛmənstɹeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “demonstrate” means

  1. verb

    give an exhibition of to an interested audience

    She shows her dogs frequently

  2. verb

    establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment

    The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound

  3. verb

    provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes

    His high fever attested to his illness

Say it in a sentence

Let me demonstrate the stitch before you try it yourself.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

demonstrate”, answered

How do you pronounce “demonstrate”?

“demonstrate” is pronounced /ˈdɛmənˌstɹeɪt/ (DE-muhn-strayt) in American English and /dɛmənstɹeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɛ”. Build it as DƐ-mən-stɹeɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “demonstrate” have?

3: dɛ · mən · stɹeɪt. The beat lands on the first, “dɛ”.

Is “demonstrate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈdɛmənˌstɹeɪt/ (DE-muhn-strayt); British English says /dɛmənstɹeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “demonstrate” mean?

As a verb: give an exhibition of to an interested audience For example: “She shows her dogs frequently” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “demonstrate”?

Stress the first syllable: DƐ-mən-stɹeɪt. “dɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “demonstrate” 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.