Pronunciation

How to pronounce “extraneous

“extraneous” is pronounced /ɛkˈstɹeɪniəs/ (ek-STRAY-nee-uhs) in American English and /ɛkstɹeɪniəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “stɹeɪ”.
The sound

Say “extraneous” in 4 beats

Say it like this

extraneous

/ɛkˈstɹeɪniəs/

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

4 beats
  1. ɛkɛk
  2. stɹeɪstɹeɪstress
  3. nini
  4. əsəs
IPA (American)
/ɛkˈstɹeɪniəs/
IPA (British)
/ɛkstɹeɪniəs/
Respelling
ek-STRAY-nee-uhs
Syllables
4 — ɛk-STɹEꞮ-ni-əs
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɛk-STɹEꞮ-ni-əs. “stɹeɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɛkˈstɹeɪniəs/

British

/ɛkstɹeɪniəs/

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

Meaning

What “extraneous” means

  1. adjective

    not pertinent to the matter under consideration

    an issue extraneous to the debate

  2. adjective

    not essential

    the ballet struck me as extraneous and somewhat out of keeping with the rest of the play

  3. adjective

    not belonging to that in which it is contained; introduced from an outside source

    water free of extraneous matter

Say it in a sentence

Cut the extraneous detail and the letter reads much better.
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

extraneous”, answered

How do you pronounce “extraneous”?

“extraneous” is pronounced /ɛkˈstɹeɪniəs/ (ek-STRAY-nee-uhs) in American English and /ɛkstɹeɪniəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “stɹeɪ”. Build it as ɛk-STɹEꞮ-ni-əs, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “extraneous” have?

4: ɛk · stɹeɪ · ni · əs. The beat lands on the second, “stɹeɪ”.

Is “extraneous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɛkˈstɹeɪniəs/ (ek-STRAY-nee-uhs); British English says /ɛkstɹeɪniəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “extraneous” mean?

As an adjective: not pertinent to the matter under consideration For example: “an issue extraneous to the debate” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “extraneous”?

Stress the second syllable: ɛk-STɹEꞮ-ni-əs. “stɹeɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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