sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “incentive”

“incentive” is pronounced /ˌɪnˈsɛntɪv/ (in-SEN-tiv) in American English and /ɪnsɛntɪv/ in British English, and /ˌɪnˈsɛnɪv/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “sɛn”.
The sound

Say “incentive” in 3 beats

Say it like this

incentive

/ˌɪnˈsɛntɪv/

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

3 beats
  1. ɪnɪn
  2. sɛnsɛnstress
  3. tɪvtɪv
IPA (American)
/ˌɪnˈsɛntɪv/
IPA (British)
/ɪnsɛntɪv/
Also accepted
/ˌɪnˈsɛnɪv/
Respelling
in-SEN-tiv
Syllables
3 — ɪn-SƐN-tɪv
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɪn-SƐN-tɪv. “sɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪnˈsɛntɪv/

British

/ɪnsɛntɪv/

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

Meaning

What “incentive” means

  1. noun

    a positive motivational influence

  2. noun

    an additional payment (or other remuneration) to employees as a means of increasing output

Say it in a sentence

“A free coffee is enough incentive to cycle in early.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort i×2nn×2ssɛshort ettvv

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

Questions

“incentive”, answered

How do you pronounce “incentive”?

“incentive” is pronounced /ˌɪnˈsɛntɪv/ (in-SEN-tiv) in American English and /ɪnsɛntɪv/ in British English, and /ˌɪnˈsɛnɪv/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “sɛn”. Build it as ɪn-SƐN-tɪv, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “incentive” have?

3: ɪn · sɛn · tɪv. The beat lands on the second, “sɛn”.

Is “incentive” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪnˈsɛntɪv/ (in-SEN-tiv); British English says /ɪnsɛntɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “incentive” mean?

As a noun: a positive motivational influence For example: “A free coffee is enough incentive to cycle in early.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “incentive”?

Stress the second syllable: ɪn-SƐN-tɪv. “sɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “incentive” 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.

Practise this word freeMore words with I