How to pronounce “despicable”
Say “despicable” in 4 beats
despicable
/ˈdɛspɪkəbəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /dɪˈspɪkəbəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- desdɛstress
- picspɪ
- abkə
- lebəl
- IPA (American)
- /ˈdɛspɪkəbəl/
- IPA (British)
- /dɪˈspɪkəbəl/
- Respelling
- DESS-pik-uh-buhl
- Syllables
- 4 — DES-pic-ab-le
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: DES-pic-ab-le. “des” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ˈdɛspɪkəbəl/
/dɪˈspɪkəbəl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “despicable” goes wrong
- Often heard
“dess-PIK-uh-bul”
both are heard; the older form stresses the first syllable
What “despicable” means
- adjective
morally reprehensible
“would do something as despicable as murder”
Say it in a sentence
“Everyone agreed the trick he played was despicable.”“despicable”, answered
How do you pronounce “despicable”?
“despicable” is pronounced /ˈdɛspɪkəbəl/ (DESS-pik-uh-buhl) in American English and /dɪˈspɪkəbəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “des”. Build it as DES-pic-ab-le, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “despicable” have?
4: des · pic · ab · le. The beat lands on the first, “des”.
Is “despicable” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈdɛspɪkəbəl/ (DESS-pik-uh-buhl); British English says /dɪˈspɪkəbəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “despicable” mean?
As an adjective: morally reprehensible For example: “would do something as despicable as murder”
Where is the stress in “despicable”?
Stress the first syllable: DES-pic-ab-le. “des” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “despicable” 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.