sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “disdain”

“disdain” is pronounced /dɪsˈdeɪn/ (dis-DAYN) in American English and /dɪsdeɪn/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “dain”.
The sound

Say “disdain” in 2 beats

Say it like this

disdain

/dɪsˈdeɪn/

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

2 beats
  1. disdɪs
  2. daindeɪnstress
IPA (American)
/dɪsˈdeɪn/
IPA (British)
/dɪsdeɪn/
Respelling
dis-DAYN
Syllables
2 — dis-DAIN
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dis-DAIN. “dain” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɪsˈdeɪn/

British

/dɪsdeɪn/

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

Meaning

What “disdain” means

  1. noun

    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike

    “he was held in contempt”

  2. noun

    a communication that indicates lack of respect by patronizing the recipient

  3. verb

    look down on with disdain

    “He despises the people he has to work for”

Say it in a sentence

“He looked at the plastic flowers with open disdain.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
dd×2ɪshort isseɪlong ann

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

Questions

“disdain”, answered

How do you pronounce “disdain”?

“disdain” is pronounced /dɪsˈdeɪn/ (dis-DAYN) in American English and /dɪsdeɪn/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “dain”. Build it as dis-DAIN, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “disdain” have?

2: dis · dain. The beat lands on the second, “dain”.

Is “disdain” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪsˈdeɪn/ (dis-DAYN); British English says /dɪsdeɪn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “disdain” mean?

As a noun: lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike For example: “he was held in contempt” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “disdain”?

Stress the second syllable: dis-DAIN. “dain” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “disdain” 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.

Practise this word freeMore words with D