Pronunciation

How to pronounce “diagnostic

“diagnostic” is pronounced /ˌdaɪəɡˈnɑstɪk/ (dy-uhg-NAH-stik) in American English and /daɪəɡnɒstɪk/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “nɑ”.
The sound

Say “diagnostic” in 4 beats

Say it like this

diagnostic

/ˌdaɪəɡˈnɑstɪk/

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

4 beats
  1. daɪdaɪ
  2. əɡəɡ
  3. stress
  4. stɪkstɪk
IPA (American)
/ˌdaɪəɡˈnɑstɪk/
IPA (British)
/daɪəɡnɒstɪk/
Respelling
dy-uhg-NAH-stik
Syllables
4 — daɪ-əɡ-NⱭ-stɪk
Stress
Stress the third syllable: daɪ-əɡ-NⱭ-stɪk. “nɑ” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌdaɪəɡˈnɑstɪk/

British

/daɪəɡnɒstɪk/

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

Meaning

What “diagnostic” means

  1. adjective

    concerned with diagnosis; used for furthering diagnosis

    a diagnostic reading test

  2. adjective

    characteristic or indicative of a disease

    a diagnostic sign of yellow fever

Say it in a sentence

A single diagnostic test ruled out three possibilities.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

10 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

diagnostic”, answered

How do you pronounce “diagnostic”?

“diagnostic” is pronounced /ˌdaɪəɡˈnɑstɪk/ (dy-uhg-NAH-stik) in American English and /daɪəɡnɒstɪk/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “nɑ”. Build it as daɪ-əɡ-NⱭ-stɪk, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “diagnostic” have?

4: daɪ · əɡ · nɑ · stɪk. The beat lands on the third, “nɑ”.

Is “diagnostic” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌdaɪəɡˈnɑstɪk/ (dy-uhg-NAH-stik); British English says /daɪəɡnɒstɪk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “diagnostic” mean?

As an adjective: concerned with diagnosis; used for furthering diagnosis For example: “a diagnostic reading test” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “diagnostic”?

Stress the third syllable: daɪ-əɡ-NⱭ-stɪk. “nɑ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “diagnostic” 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.