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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “exponential”

“exponential” is pronounced /ˌɛkspoʊˈnɛnʃəl/ (ek-spoh-NEN-shuhl) in American English and /ɛkspənɛnʃəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “en”.
The sound

Say “exponential” in 4 beats

Say it like this

exponential

/ˌɛkspoʊˈnɛnʃəl/

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

4 beats
  1. exɛk
  2. ponspoʊ
  3. ennɛnstress
  4. tialʃəl
IPA (American)
/ˌɛkspoʊˈnɛnʃəl/
IPA (British)
/ɛkspənɛnʃəl/
Respelling
ek-spoh-NEN-shuhl
Syllables
4 — ex-pon-EN-tial
Stress
Stress the third syllable: ex-pon-EN-tial. “en” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɛkspoʊˈnɛnʃəl/

British

/ɛkspənɛnʃəl/

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

Meaning

What “exponential” means

  1. noun

    a function in which an independent variable appears as an exponent

  2. adjective

    of or involving exponents

    “exponential growth”

Say it in a sentence

“The graph shows an exponential rather than a straight line.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
ɛshort e×2kkssppoʊlong onn×2ʃshəschwall

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

Questions

“exponential”, answered

How do you pronounce “exponential”?

“exponential” is pronounced /ˌɛkspoʊˈnɛnʃəl/ (ek-spoh-NEN-shuhl) in American English and /ɛkspənɛnʃəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “en”. Build it as ex-pon-EN-tial, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “exponential” have?

4: ex · pon · en · tial. The beat lands on the third, “en”.

Is “exponential” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɛkspoʊˈnɛnʃəl/ (ek-spoh-NEN-shuhl); British English says /ɛkspənɛnʃəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “exponential” mean?

As a noun: a function in which an independent variable appears as an exponent For example: “The graph shows an exponential rather than a straight line.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “exponential”?

Stress the third syllable: ex-pon-EN-tial. “en” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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