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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “exemplary”

“exemplary” is pronounced /ɪɡˈzɛmplɚi/ (ig-ZEM-pluh-ee) in American English and /ɛɡzɛmpləɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “emp”.
The sound

Say “exemplary” in 4 beats

Say it like this

exemplary

/ɪɡˈzɛmplɚi/

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

4 beats
  1. exɪɡ
  2. empzɛmstress
  3. larplɚ
  4. yi
IPA (American)
/ɪɡˈzɛmplɚi/
IPA (British)
/ɛɡzɛmpləɹi/
Respelling
ig-ZEM-pluh-ee
Syllables
4 — ex-EMP-lar-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ex-EMP-lar-y. “emp” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɪɡˈzɛmplɚi/

British

/ɛɡzɛmpləɹi/

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

Meaning

What “exemplary” means

  1. adjective

    worthy of imitation

    “exemplary behavior”

  2. adjective

    being or serving as an illustration of a type

    “the free discussion that is emblematic of democracy”

  3. adjective

    serving to warn

    “shook a monitory finger at him”

Say it in a sentence

“Her attendance record has been exemplary for three whole years.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort iɡgzzɛshort emmppllɚschwailong e

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

Questions

“exemplary”, answered

How do you pronounce “exemplary”?

“exemplary” is pronounced /ɪɡˈzɛmplɚi/ (ig-ZEM-pluh-ee) in American English and /ɛɡzɛmpləɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “emp”. Build it as ex-EMP-lar-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “exemplary” have?

4: ex · emp · lar · y. The beat lands on the second, “emp”.

Is “exemplary” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪɡˈzɛmplɚi/ (ig-ZEM-pluh-ee); British English says /ɛɡzɛmpləɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “exemplary” mean?

As an adjective: worthy of imitation For example: “exemplary behavior” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “exemplary”?

Stress the second syllable: ex-EMP-lar-y. “emp” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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