Pronunciation

How to pronounce “denigrate

“denigrate” is pronounced /ˈdɛnəˌɡɹeɪt/ (DE-nuh-grayt) in American English and /dɛnɪɡɹeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɛ”.
The sound

Say “denigrate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

denigrate

/ˈdɛnəˌɡɹeɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. stress
  2. ɡɹeɪtɡɹeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈdɛnəˌɡɹeɪt/
IPA (British)
/dɛnɪɡɹeɪt/
Respelling
DE-nuh-grayt
Syllables
3 — DƐ-nə-ɡɹeɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: DƐ-nə-ɡɹeɪt. “dɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈdɛnəˌɡɹeɪt/

British

/dɛnɪɡɹeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “denigrate” means

  1. verb

    cause to seem less serious; play down

    Don't belittle his influence

  2. verb

    charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

    The journalists have defamed me!

Say it in a sentence

There is no need to denigrate the work of volunteers.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

denigrate”, answered

How do you pronounce “denigrate”?

“denigrate” is pronounced /ˈdɛnəˌɡɹeɪt/ (DE-nuh-grayt) in American English and /dɛnɪɡɹeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɛ”. Build it as DƐ-nə-ɡɹeɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “denigrate” have?

3: dɛ · nə · ɡɹeɪt. The beat lands on the first, “dɛ”.

Is “denigrate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈdɛnəˌɡɹeɪt/ (DE-nuh-grayt); British English says /dɛnɪɡɹeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “denigrate” mean?

As a verb: cause to seem less serious; play down For example: “Don't belittle his influence” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “denigrate”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “denigrate” and see every sound

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