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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “heretical”

“heretical” is pronounced /hɚˈɛtɪkəl/ (huh-E-ti-kuhl) in American English and /hɪɹɛtɪkəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “et”.
The sound

Say “heretical” in 4 beats

Say it like this

heretical

/hɚˈɛtɪkəl/

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

4 beats
  1. herhɚ
  2. etɛstress
  3. ictɪ
  4. alkəl
IPA (American)
/hɚˈɛtɪkəl/
IPA (British)
/hɪɹɛtɪkəl/
Respelling
huh-E-ti-kuhl
Syllables
4 — her-ET-ic-al
Stress
Stress the second syllable: her-ET-ic-al. “et” 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

/hɚˈɛtɪkəl/

British

/hɪɹɛtɪkəl/

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

Meaning

What “heretical” means

  1. adjective

    characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards

Say it in a sentence

“Putting sugar on porridge is heretical in this house.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
hhɚschwa×2ɛshort ettɪshort ikkll

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

Questions

“heretical”, answered

How do you pronounce “heretical”?

“heretical” is pronounced /hɚˈɛtɪkəl/ (huh-E-ti-kuhl) in American English and /hɪɹɛtɪkəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “et”. Build it as her-ET-ic-al, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “heretical” have?

4: her · et · ic · al. The beat lands on the second, “et”.

Is “heretical” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /hɚˈɛtɪkəl/ (huh-E-ti-kuhl); British English says /hɪɹɛtɪkəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “heretical” mean?

As an adjective: characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards For example: “Putting sugar on porridge is heretical in this house.”

Where is the stress in “heretical”?

Stress the second syllable: her-ET-ic-al. “et” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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