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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “executive”

“executive” is pronounced /ɪɡˈzɛkjətɪv/ (ig-ZE-kyuh-tiv) in American English and /ɛɡzɛkjuːtɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “zɛ”.
The sound

Say “executive” in 4 beats

Say it like this

executive

/ɪɡˈzɛkjətɪv/

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

4 beats
  1. ɪɡɪɡ
  2. zɛzɛstress
  3. kjəkjə
  4. tɪvtɪv
IPA (American)
/ɪɡˈzɛkjətɪv/
IPA (British)
/ɛɡzɛkjuːtɪv/
Respelling
ig-ZE-kyuh-tiv
Syllables
4 — ɪɡ-ZƐ-kjə-tɪv
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɪɡ-ZƐ-kjə-tɪv. “zɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɪɡˈzɛkjətɪv/

British

/ɛɡzɛkjuːtɪv/

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

Meaning

What “executive” means

  1. noun

    a person responsible for the administration of a business

  2. noun

    persons who administer the law

  3. noun

    someone who manages a government agency or department

Say it in a sentence

“She was promoted to senior executive after ten years.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort i×2ɡgzzɛshort ekkjyəschwattvv

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

Questions

“executive”, answered

How do you pronounce “executive”?

“executive” is pronounced /ɪɡˈzɛkjətɪv/ (ig-ZE-kyuh-tiv) in American English and /ɛɡzɛkjuːtɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “zɛ”. Build it as ɪɡ-ZƐ-kjə-tɪv, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “executive” have?

4: ɪɡ · zɛ · kjə · tɪv. The beat lands on the second, “zɛ”.

Is “executive” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪɡˈzɛkjətɪv/ (ig-ZE-kyuh-tiv); British English says /ɛɡzɛkjuːtɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “executive” mean?

As a noun: a person responsible for the administration of a business For example: “She was promoted to senior executive after ten years.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “executive”?

Stress the second syllable: ɪɡ-ZƐ-kjə-tɪv. “zɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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