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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “expectation”

“expectation” is pronounced /ˌɛkspɛkˈteɪʃən/ (ek-spek-TAY-shuhn) in American English and /ɛkspɪkteɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tat”.
The sound

Say “expectation” in 4 beats

Say it like this

expectation

/ˌɛkspɛkˈteɪʃən/

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

4 beats
  1. exɛk
  2. pecspɛk
  3. tatteɪstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌɛkspɛkˈteɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/ɛkspɪkteɪʃən/
Respelling
ek-spek-TAY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — ex-pec-TAT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: ex-pec-TAT-ion. “tat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɛkspɛkˈteɪʃən/

British

/ɛkspɪkteɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “expectation” means

  1. noun

    belief about (or mental picture of) the future

  2. noun

    anticipating with confidence of fulfillment

  3. noun

    the feeling that something is about to happen

Say it in a sentence

“The expectation was that everyone would speak at least once.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
ɛshort e×2kk×2sspptteɪlong aʃshəschwann

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

Questions

“expectation”, answered

How do you pronounce “expectation”?

“expectation” is pronounced /ˌɛkspɛkˈteɪʃən/ (ek-spek-TAY-shuhn) in American English and /ɛkspɪkteɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tat”. Build it as ex-pec-TAT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “expectation” have?

4: ex · pec · tat · ion. The beat lands on the third, “tat”.

Is “expectation” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɛkspɛkˈteɪʃən/ (ek-spek-TAY-shuhn); British English says /ɛkspɪkteɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “expectation” mean?

As a noun: belief about (or mental picture of) the future For example: “The expectation was that everyone would speak at least once.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “expectation”?

Stress the third syllable: ex-pec-TAT-ion. “tat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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