Pronunciation

How to pronounce “diminish

“diminish” is pronounced /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/ (di-MI-nish) in American English and /dɪmɪnɪʃ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “in”.
The sound

Say “diminish” in 3 beats

Say it like this

diminish

/dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/

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

3 beats
  1. dim
  2. instress
  3. ishnɪʃ
IPA (American)
/dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/
IPA (British)
/dɪmɪnɪʃ/
Respelling
di-MI-nish
Syllables
3 — dim-IN-ish
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dim-IN-ish. “in” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/

British

/dɪmɪnɪʃ/

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

Meaning

What “diminish” means

  1. verb

    decrease in size, extent, or range

    The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester

  2. verb

    lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of

    don't belittle your colleagues

Say it in a sentence

The noise from the road does diminish after midnight.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

diminish”, answered

How do you pronounce “diminish”?

“diminish” is pronounced /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/ (di-MI-nish) in American English and /dɪmɪnɪʃ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “in”. Build it as dim-IN-ish, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “diminish” have?

3: dim · in · ish. The beat lands on the second, “in”.

Is “diminish” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/ (di-MI-nish); British English says /dɪmɪnɪʃ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “diminish” mean?

As a verb: decrease in size, extent, or range For example: “The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “diminish”?

Stress the second syllable: dim-IN-ish. “in” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “diminish” 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.