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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “deviate”

“deviate” is pronounced /ˈdiviˌeɪt/ (DEE-vee-ayt) in American English and /diːvɪeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dev”.
The sound

Say “deviate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

deviate

/ˈdiviˌeɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. devdistress
  2. iatvi
  3. eeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈdiviˌeɪt/
IPA (British)
/diːvɪeɪt/
Respelling
DEE-vee-ayt
Syllables
3 — DEV-iat-e
Stress
Stress the first syllable: DEV-iat-e. “dev” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈdiviˌeɪt/

British

/diːvɪeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “deviate” means

  1. noun

    a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior

  2. verb

    turn aside; turn away from

  3. verb

    be at variance with; be out of line with

Say it in a sentence

“The route does deviate slightly where the bridge was rebuilt.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ddilong e×2vveɪlong att

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

Questions

“deviate”, answered

How do you pronounce “deviate”?

“deviate” is pronounced /ˈdiviˌeɪt/ (DEE-vee-ayt) in American English and /diːvɪeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dev”. Build it as DEV-iat-e, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “deviate” have?

3: dev · iat · e. The beat lands on the first, “dev”.

Is “deviate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈdiviˌeɪt/ (DEE-vee-ayt); British English says /diːvɪeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “deviate” mean?

As a noun: a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior For example: “The route does deviate slightly where the bridge was rebuilt.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “deviate”?

Stress the first syllable: DEV-iat-e. “dev” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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