Pronunciation

How to pronounce “epitomise

“epitomise” is pronounced /ɪˈpɪtəˌmaɪz/ (ih-PIT-uh-myze) in American English and /ɪˈpɪtəmaɪz/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “pɪ”.
The sound

Say “epitomise” in 4 beats

Say it like this

epitomise

/ɪˈpɪtəˌmaɪz/

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

4 beats
  1. ɪɪ
  2. stress
  3. maɪzmaɪz
IPA (American)
/ɪˈpɪtəˌmaɪz/
IPA (British)
/ɪˈpɪtəmaɪz/
Respelling
ih-PIT-uh-myze
Syllables
4 — ɪ-PꞮ-tə-maɪz
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɪ-PꞮ-tə-maɪz. “pɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɪˈpɪtəˌmaɪz/

British

/ɪˈpɪtəmaɪz/

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

Watch out

Where “epitomise” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    EP-ih-toh-myze

    the stress is on PIT, exactly as in epitome

Meaning

What “epitomise” means

  1. verb

    embody the essential characteristics of or be a typical example of

    The fugue typifies Bach's style of composition

Say it in a sentence

These two songs epitomise everything the band did well.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

epitomise”, answered

How do you pronounce “epitomise”?

“epitomise” is pronounced /ɪˈpɪtəˌmaɪz/ (ih-PIT-uh-myze) in American English and /ɪˈpɪtəmaɪz/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “pɪ”. Build it as ɪ-PꞮ-tə-maɪz, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “epitomise” have?

4: ɪ · pɪ · tə · maɪz. The beat lands on the second, “pɪ”.

Is “epitomise” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪˈpɪtəˌmaɪz/ (ih-PIT-uh-myze); British English says /ɪˈpɪtəmaɪz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “epitomise” mean?

As a verb: embody the essential characteristics of or be a typical example of For example: “The fugue typifies Bach's style of composition”

Where is the stress in “epitomise”?

Stress the second syllable: ɪ-PꞮ-tə-maɪz. “pɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “epitomise” and see every sound

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