Pronunciation

How to pronounce “exonerate

“exonerate” is pronounced /ɪɡˈzɑnɚˌeɪt/ (ig-ZAH-nuh-ayt) in American English and /ɛɡzɒnəɹeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “zɑ”.
The sound

Say “exonerate” in 4 beats

Say it like this

exonerate

/ɪɡˈzɑnɚˌeɪt/

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

4 beats
  1. ɪɡɪɡ
  2. stress
  3. eɪteɪt
IPA (American)
/ɪɡˈzɑnɚˌeɪt/
IPA (British)
/ɛɡzɒnəɹeɪt/
Respelling
ig-ZAH-nuh-ayt
Syllables
4 — ɪɡ-ZⱭ-nɚ-eɪt
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɪɡ-ZⱭ-nɚ-eɪt. “zɑ” 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

/ɪɡˈzɑnɚˌeɪt/

British

/ɛɡzɒnəɹeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “exonerate” means

  1. verb

    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges

    The suspect was cleared of the murder charges

Say it in a sentence

Film from the doorbell camera did exonerate the neighbour.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

exonerate”, answered

How do you pronounce “exonerate”?

“exonerate” is pronounced /ɪɡˈzɑnɚˌeɪt/ (ig-ZAH-nuh-ayt) in American English and /ɛɡzɒnəɹeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “zɑ”. Build it as ɪɡ-ZⱭ-nɚ-eɪt, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “exonerate” have?

4: ɪɡ · zɑ · nɚ · eɪt. The beat lands on the second, “zɑ”.

Is “exonerate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪɡˈzɑnɚˌeɪt/ (ig-ZAH-nuh-ayt); British English says /ɛɡzɒnəɹeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “exonerate” mean?

As a verb: pronounce not guilty of criminal charges For example: “The suspect was cleared of the murder charges”

Where is the stress in “exonerate”?

Stress the second syllable: ɪɡ-ZⱭ-nɚ-eɪt. “zɑ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “exonerate” and see every sound

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