How to pronounce “illuminate”
Say “illuminate” in 4 beats
illuminate
/ˌɪˈlumɪnɪt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɪluːmɪneɪt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- ɪɪ
- lulustress
- mɪmɪ
- nɪtnɪt
- IPA (American)
- /ˌɪˈlumɪnɪt/
- IPA (British)
- /ɪluːmɪneɪt/
- Respelling
- i-LOO-mi-nit
- Syllables
- 4 — ɪ-LU-mɪ-nɪt
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ɪ-LU-mɪ-nɪt. “lu” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˌɪˈlumɪnɪt/
/ɪluːmɪneɪt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “illuminate” means
- verb
make lighter or brighter
“This lamp lightens the room a bit”
- verb
make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear
“Could you clarify these remarks?”
- verb
add embellishments and paintings to (medieval manuscripts)
Say it in a sentence
“One candle can illuminate a surprisingly large room.”“illuminate”, answered
How do you pronounce “illuminate”?
“illuminate” is pronounced /ˌɪˈlumɪnɪt/ (i-LOO-mi-nit) in American English and /ɪluːmɪneɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “lu”. Build it as ɪ-LU-mɪ-nɪt, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “illuminate” have?
4: ɪ · lu · mɪ · nɪt. The beat lands on the second, “lu”.
Is “illuminate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌɪˈlumɪnɪt/ (i-LOO-mi-nit); British English says /ɪluːmɪneɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “illuminate” mean?
As a verb: make lighter or brighter For example: “This lamp lightens the room a bit” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “illuminate”?
Stress the second syllable: ɪ-LU-mɪ-nɪt. “lu” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “illuminate” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.