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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “imply”

“imply” is pronounced /ˌɪmˈplaɪ/ (im-PLY) in American English and /ɪmplaɪ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ly”.
The sound

Say “imply” in 2 beats

Say it like this

imply

/ˌɪmˈplaɪ/

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

2 beats
  1. impɪm
  2. lyplaɪstress
IPA (American)
/ˌɪmˈplaɪ/
IPA (British)
/ɪmplaɪ/
Respelling
im-PLY
Syllables
2 — imp-LY
Stress
Stress the second syllable: imp-LY. “ly” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls 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

/ˌɪmˈplaɪ/

British

/ɪmplaɪ/

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

Meaning

What “imply” means

  1. verb

    express or state indirectly

  2. verb

    suggest as a logically necessary consequence; in logic

  3. verb

    have as a logical consequence

    “The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers”

Say it in a sentence

“I did not mean to imply that you were late.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort immppllaɪlong i

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

Questions

“imply”, answered

How do you pronounce “imply”?

“imply” is pronounced /ˌɪmˈplaɪ/ (im-PLY) in American English and /ɪmplaɪ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ly”. Build it as imp-LY, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “imply” have?

2: imp · ly. The beat lands on the second, “ly”.

Is “imply” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪmˈplaɪ/ (im-PLY); British English says /ɪmplaɪ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “imply” mean?

As a verb: express or state indirectly For example: “I did not mean to imply that you were late.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “imply”?

Stress the second syllable: imp-LY. “ly” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “imply” and see every sound

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