sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “enable”

“enable” is pronounced /ɛˈneɪbəl/ (e-NAY-buhl) in American English and /ɛneɪbəl/ in British English, and /ɪˈneɪbəl/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “ab”.
The sound

Say “enable” in 3 beats

Say it like this

enable

/ɛˈneɪbəl/

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

3 beats
  1. enɛ
  2. abneɪstress
  3. lebəl
IPA (American)
/ɛˈneɪbəl/
IPA (British)
/ɛneɪbəl/
Also accepted
/ɪˈneɪbəl/
Respelling
e-NAY-buhl
Syllables
3 — en-AB-le
Stress
Stress the second syllable: en-AB-le. “ab” 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

/ɛˈneɪbəl/

British

/ɛneɪbəl/

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

Meaning

What “enable” means

  1. verb

    render capable or able for some task

    “This skill will enable you to find a job on Wall Street”

Say it in a sentence

“A small ramp would enable her to reach the garden.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɛshort enneɪlong abbəschwall

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

Questions

“enable”, answered

How do you pronounce “enable”?

“enable” is pronounced /ɛˈneɪbəl/ (e-NAY-buhl) in American English and /ɛneɪbəl/ in British English, and /ɪˈneɪbəl/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “ab”. Build it as en-AB-le, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “enable” have?

3: en · ab · le. The beat lands on the second, “ab”.

Is “enable” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɛˈneɪbəl/ (e-NAY-buhl); British English says /ɛneɪbəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “enable” mean?

As a verb: render capable or able for some task For example: “This skill will enable you to find a job on Wall Street”

Where is the stress in “enable”?

Stress the second syllable: en-AB-le. “ab” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “enable” 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 E