Pronunciation

How to pronounce “discrimination

“discrimination” is pronounced /dɪˌskɹɪməˈneɪʃən/ (di-skri-muh-NAY-shuhn) in American English and /dɪskɹɪmɪneɪʃən/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “at”.
The sound

Say “discrimination” in 5 beats

Say it like this

discrimination

/dɪˌskɹɪməˈneɪʃən/

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

5 beats
  1. disc
  2. rimskɹɪ
  3. in
  4. atneɪstress
  5. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/dɪˌskɹɪməˈneɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/dɪskɹɪmɪneɪʃən/
Respelling
di-skri-muh-NAY-shuhn
Syllables
5 — disc-rim-in-AT-ion
Stress
Stress the fourth syllable: disc-rim-in-AT-ion. “at” 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

/dɪˌskɹɪməˈneɪʃən/

British

/dɪskɹɪmɪneɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “discrimination” means

  1. noun

    unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice

  2. noun

    the cognitive process whereby two or more stimuli are distinguished

Say it in a sentence

The policy is meant to prevent discrimination during hiring.
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

discrimination”, answered

How do you pronounce “discrimination”?

“discrimination” is pronounced /dɪˌskɹɪməˈneɪʃən/ (di-skri-muh-NAY-shuhn) in American English and /dɪskɹɪmɪneɪʃən/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “at”. Build it as disc-rim-in-AT-ion, then run the fourth syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “discrimination” have?

5: disc · rim · in · at · ion. The beat lands on the fourth, “at”.

Is “discrimination” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˌskɹɪməˈneɪʃən/ (di-skri-muh-NAY-shuhn); British English says /dɪskɹɪmɪneɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “discrimination” mean?

As a noun: unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice For example: “The policy is meant to prevent discrimination during hiring.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “discrimination”?

Stress the fourth syllable: disc-rim-in-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “discrimination” and see every sound

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