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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “illustrate”

“illustrate” is pronounced /ˈɪləˌstɹeɪt/ (I-luh-strayt) in American English and /ɪləstɹeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɪ”.
The sound

Say “illustrate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

illustrate

/ˈɪləˌstɹeɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. ɪɪstress
  2. lələ
  3. stɹeɪtstɹeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈɪləˌstɹeɪt/
IPA (British)
/ɪləstɹeɪt/
Respelling
I-luh-strayt
Syllables
3 — Ɪ-lə-stɹeɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: Ɪ-lə-stɹeɪt. “ɪ” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɪləˌstɹeɪt/

British

/ɪləstɹeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “illustrate” means

  1. verb

    clarify by giving an example of

  2. verb

    depict with an illustration

  3. verb

    supply with illustrations

    “illustrate a book with drawings”

Say it in a sentence

“These two examples illustrate the point better than any theory.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort illəschwasstt×2ɹreɪlong a

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

Questions

“illustrate”, answered

How do you pronounce “illustrate”?

“illustrate” is pronounced /ˈɪləˌstɹeɪt/ (I-luh-strayt) in American English and /ɪləstɹeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɪ”. Build it as Ɪ-lə-stɹeɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “illustrate” have?

3: ɪ · lə · stɹeɪt. The beat lands on the first, “ɪ”.

Is “illustrate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɪləˌstɹeɪt/ (I-luh-strayt); British English says /ɪləstɹeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “illustrate” mean?

As a verb: clarify by giving an example of For example: “These two examples illustrate the point better than any theory.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “illustrate”?

Stress the first syllable: Ɪ-lə-stɹeɪt. “ɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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