How to pronounce “deteriorate”
Say “deteriorate” in 4 beats
deteriorate
/dɪˈtɪɹiəˌɹeɪt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /dɪˈtɪəɹɪəɹeɪt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- dɪdɪ
- tɪtɪstress
- ɹɪəɹɪə
- ɹeɪtɹeɪt
- IPA (American)
- /dɪˈtɪɹiəˌɹeɪt/
- IPA (British)
- /dɪˈtɪəɹɪəɹeɪt/
- Respelling
- dih-TEER-ee-uh-rayt
- Syllables
- 4 — dɪ-TꞮ-ɹɪə-ɹeɪt
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: dɪ-TꞮ-ɹɪə-ɹeɪt. “tɪ” 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
American and British are not the same here
/dɪˈtɪɹiəˌɹeɪt/
/dɪˈtɪəɹɪəɹeɪt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “deteriorate” goes wrong
- Often heard
“dee-TEER-ee-ate”
five syllables: keep the -or- before -ate
What “deteriorate” means
- verb
become worse or disintegrate
“His mind deteriorated”
- verb
grow worse
“Her condition deteriorated”
Say it in a sentence
“The path begins to deteriorate after the second gate.”“deteriorate”, answered
How do you pronounce “deteriorate”?
“deteriorate” is pronounced /dɪˈtɪɹiəˌɹeɪt/ (dih-TEER-ee-uh-rayt) in American English and /dɪˈtɪəɹɪəɹeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tɪ”. Build it as dɪ-TꞮ-ɹɪə-ɹeɪt, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “deteriorate” have?
4: dɪ · tɪ · ɹɪə · ɹeɪt. The beat lands on the second, “tɪ”.
Is “deteriorate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /dɪˈtɪɹiəˌɹeɪt/ (dih-TEER-ee-uh-rayt); British English says /dɪˈtɪəɹɪəɹeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “deteriorate” mean?
As a verb: become worse or disintegrate For example: “His mind deteriorated” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “deteriorate”?
Stress the second syllable: dɪ-TꞮ-ɹɪə-ɹeɪt. “tɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “deteriorate” 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.