How to pronounce “elaborate”
“elaborate” is said two ways
/ɪˈlæbɹət/
ih-LAB-ruht
Meaning detailed. Ends in a reduced -ruht.
/ɪˈlæbɚˌeɪt/
ih-LAB-uh-rayt
To add detail. Ends in a full -rayt.
Listen for the vowel, not the letters
The spelling never moves; the sounds inside it do. Practise the two back to back, so your mouth stops defaulting to whichever one you learnt first.Both forms live in one sentence here: “The pattern was more elaborate than anything she had attempted.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “elaborate” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the adjective and the verb. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “elaborate” in 3 beats
elaborate
/ɪˈlæbɹət/
Everything in this card describes the adjective form. As a verb it is /ɪˈlæbɚˌeɪt/.
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɪˈlabəɹət/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- ɪɪ
- lælæstress
- bɹətbɹət
- IPA (American)
- /ɪˈlæbɹət/
- IPA (British)
- /ɪˈlabəɹət/
- Respelling
- ih-LAB-ruht (adjective) · ih-LAB-uh-rayt (verb)
- Syllables
- 3 — ɪ-LÆ-bɹət
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ɪ-LÆ-bɹət. “læ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
This is the adjective form in two accents — a separate question from the two pronunciations above, which are the same accent saying two different words.
/ɪˈlæbɹət/
/ɪˈlabəɹət/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “elaborate” goes wrong
- Often heard
“ee-lab-OR-ate”
the beat is on LAB in both, and only the verb ends in -rayt
What “elaborate” means
- verb
add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing
“She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation”
- verb
produce from basic elements or sources; change into a more developed product
“The bee elaborates honey”
- verb
make more complex, intricate, or richer
“refine a design or pattern”
Say it in a sentence
“The pattern was more elaborate than anything she had attempted.”“elaborate”, answered
How do you pronounce “elaborate”?
“elaborate” has two pronunciations: /ɪˈlæbɹət/ as an adjective and /ɪˈlæbɚˌeɪt/ as a verb — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the sounds inside it do, and nothing on the page tells you which one a sentence wants. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the adjective form. Build it as ɪ-LÆ-bɹət, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “elaborate” have?
3: ɪ · læ · bɹət. The beat lands on the second, “læ”. Read letter by letter it looks like 4 (ee-lab-OR-ate), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 3.
Which pronunciation of “elaborate” is correct?
Both are. /ɪˈlæbɹət/ (ih-LAB-ruht) as an adjective; /ɪˈlæbɚˌeɪt/ (ih-LAB-uh-rayt) as a verb. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does, and the two are as different as any two words. Both appear here: “The pattern was more elaborate than anything she had attempted.”
Is “elaborate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɪˈlæbɹət/ (ih-LAB-ruht); British English says /ɪˈlabəɹət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “elaborate” mean?
As a verb: add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing For example: “She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “elaborate”?
Stress the second syllable: ɪ-LÆ-bɹət. “læ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “elaborate” 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.