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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “ephemeral”

“ephemeral” is pronounced /ɪˈfɛmɚəl/ (i-FE-muh-uhl) in American English and /ɪfɛməɹəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “hem”.
The sound

Say “ephemeral” in 4 beats

Say it like this

ephemeral

/ɪˈfɛmɚəl/

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

4 beats
  1. epɪ
  2. hemfɛstress
  3. ermɚ
  4. aləl
IPA (American)
/ɪˈfɛmɚəl/
IPA (British)
/ɪfɛməɹəl/
Respelling
i-FE-muh-uhl
Syllables
4 — ep-HEM-er-al
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ep-HEM-er-al. “hem” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɪˈfɛmɚəl/

British

/ɪfɛməɹəl/

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

Meaning

What “ephemeral” means

  1. noun

    anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form

  2. adjective

    lasting a very short time

    “the ephemeral joys of childhood”

Say it in a sentence

“Frost patterns on the glass are lovely and completely ephemeral.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort iffɛshort emmɚschwa×2ll

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

Questions

“ephemeral”, answered

How do you pronounce “ephemeral”?

“ephemeral” is pronounced /ɪˈfɛmɚəl/ (i-FE-muh-uhl) in American English and /ɪfɛməɹəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “hem”. Build it as ep-HEM-er-al, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “ephemeral” have?

4: ep · hem · er · al. The beat lands on the second, “hem”.

Is “ephemeral” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪˈfɛmɚəl/ (i-FE-muh-uhl); British English says /ɪfɛməɹəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “ephemeral” mean?

As a noun: anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form For example: “Frost patterns on the glass are lovely and completely ephemeral.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “ephemeral”?

Stress the second syllable: ep-HEM-er-al. “hem” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

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