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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “deviation”

“deviation” is pronounced /ˌdiviˈeɪʃən/ (dee-vee-AY-shuhn) in American English and /diːvɪeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “eɪ”.
The sound

Say “deviation” in 4 beats

Say it like this

deviation

/ˌdiviˈeɪʃən/

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

4 beats
  1. didi
  2. vivi
  3. eɪeɪstress
  4. ʃənʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌdiviˈeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/diːvɪeɪʃən/
Respelling
dee-vee-AY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — di-vi-EꞮ-ʃən
Stress
Stress the third syllable: di-vi-EꞮ-ʃən. “eɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌdiviˈeɪʃən/

British

/diːvɪeɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “deviation” means

  1. noun

    a variation that deviates from the standard or norm

    “the deviation from the mean”

  2. noun

    the difference between an observed value and the expected value of a variable or function

  3. noun

    the error of a compass due to local magnetic disturbances

Say it in a sentence

“A small deviation from the recipe ruined the whole batch.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ddilong e×2vveɪlong aʃshəschwann

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

Questions

“deviation”, answered

How do you pronounce “deviation”?

“deviation” is pronounced /ˌdiviˈeɪʃən/ (dee-vee-AY-shuhn) in American English and /diːvɪeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “eɪ”. Build it as di-vi-EꞮ-ʃən, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “deviation” have?

4: di · vi · eɪ · ʃən. The beat lands on the third, “eɪ”.

Is “deviation” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌdiviˈeɪʃən/ (dee-vee-AY-shuhn); British English says /diːvɪeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “deviation” mean?

As a noun: a variation that deviates from the standard or norm For example: “the deviation from the mean” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “deviation”?

Stress the third syllable: di-vi-EꞮ-ʃən. “eɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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