Pronunciation

How to pronounce “impetuous

“impetuous” is pronounced /ɪmˈpɛtʃuəs/ (im-PECH-oo-uhs) in American English and /ɪmˈpɛtjʊəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “pɛ”.
The sound

Say “impetuous” in 4 beats

Say it like this

impetuous

/ɪmˈpɛtʃuəs/

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

4 beats
  1. ɪmɪm
  2. stress
  3. tʃutʃu
  4. əsəs
IPA (American)
/ɪmˈpɛtʃuəs/
IPA (British)
/ɪmˈpɛtjʊəs/
Respelling
im-PECH-oo-uhs
Syllables
4 — ɪm-PƐ-tʃu-əs
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɪm-PƐ-tʃu-əs. “pɛ” 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

/ɪmˈpɛtʃuəs/

British

/ɪmˈpɛtjʊəs/

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

Watch out

Where “impetuous” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    im-pet-YOO-us

    the stress is on PECH and the tu becomes a ch sound

Meaning

What “impetuous” means

  1. adjective

    characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation; ; ; ; ; (`brainish' is archaic)

    a hotheaded decision

  2. adjective

    marked by violent force

    impetuous heaving waves

Say it in a sentence

It was an impetuous decision that he never regretted.
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

impetuous”, answered

How do you pronounce “impetuous”?

“impetuous” is pronounced /ɪmˈpɛtʃuəs/ (im-PECH-oo-uhs) in American English and /ɪmˈpɛtjʊəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “pɛ”. Build it as ɪm-PƐ-tʃu-əs, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “impetuous” have?

4: ɪm · pɛ · tʃu · əs. The beat lands on the second, “pɛ”.

Is “impetuous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪmˈpɛtʃuəs/ (im-PECH-oo-uhs); British English says /ɪmˈpɛtjʊəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “impetuous” mean?

As an adjective: characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation; ; ; ; ; (`brainish' is archaic) For example: “a hotheaded decision” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “impetuous”?

Stress the second syllable: ɪm-PƐ-tʃu-əs. “pɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “impetuous” and see every sound

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