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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “immediately”

“immediately” is pronounced /ˌɪˈmiˌdiətli/ (i-MEE-dee-uht-lee) in American English and /ɪmiːdɪətli/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “med”.
The sound

Say “immediately” in 5 beats

Say it like this

immediately

/ˌɪˈmiˌdiətli/

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

5 beats
  1. imɪ
  2. medmistress
  3. iatdi
  4. elət
  5. yli
IPA (American)
/ˌɪˈmiˌdiətli/
IPA (British)
/ɪmiːdɪətli/
Respelling
i-MEE-dee-uht-lee
Syllables
5 — im-MED-iat-el-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: im-MED-iat-el-y. “med” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adverb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪˈmiˌdiətli/

British

/ɪmiːdɪətli/

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

Meaning

What “immediately” means

  1. adverb

    without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening

    “he answered immediately”

  2. adverb

    near or close by

    “he passed immediately behind her”

  3. adverb

    bearing an immediate relation

    “this immediately concerns your future”

Say it in a sentence

“She called her sister immediately after hearing the news.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort immilong e×2ddɪəearttll

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

Questions

“immediately”, answered

How do you pronounce “immediately”?

“immediately” is pronounced /ˌɪˈmiˌdiətli/ (i-MEE-dee-uht-lee) in American English and /ɪmiːdɪətli/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “med”. Build it as im-MED-iat-el-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “immediately” have?

5: im · med · iat · el · y. The beat lands on the second, “med”.

Is “immediately” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪˈmiˌdiətli/ (i-MEE-dee-uht-lee); British English says /ɪmiːdɪətli/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “immediately” mean?

As an adverb: without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening For example: “he answered immediately” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “immediately”?

Stress the second syllable: im-MED-iat-el-y. “med” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “immediately” and see every sound

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