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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “inchoate”

“inchoate” is pronounced /ɪnˈkoʊət/ (in-KOH-uht) in American English and /ɪnˈkəʊət/ in British English, and /ɪnˈkoʊeɪt/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “hoat”.
The sound

Say “inchoate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

inchoate

/ɪnˈkoʊət/

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

3 beats
  1. incɪn
  2. hoatkoʊstress
  3. eət
IPA (American)
/ɪnˈkoʊət/
IPA (British)
/ɪnˈkəʊət/
Also accepted
/ɪnˈkoʊeɪt/
Respelling
in-KOH-uht
Syllables
3 — inc-HOAT-e
Stress
Stress the second syllable: inc-HOAT-e. “hoat” 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

/ɪnˈkoʊət/

British

/ɪnˈkəʊət/

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

Also accepted

/ɪnˈkoʊeɪt/
Watch out

Where “inchoate” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    “IN-choh-ayt”

    the ch is a hard k and the stress is on the second syllable

Meaning

What “inchoate” means

  1. adjective

    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed

    “incipient civil disorder”

Say it in a sentence

“The plan was still inchoate when the funding was announced.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort innkkoʊlong oəschwatt

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

Questions

“inchoate”, answered

How do you pronounce “inchoate”?

“inchoate” is pronounced /ɪnˈkoʊət/ (in-KOH-uht) in American English and /ɪnˈkəʊət/ in British English, and /ɪnˈkoʊeɪt/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “hoat”. Build it as inc-HOAT-e, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “inchoate” have?

3: inc · hoat · e. The beat lands on the second, “hoat”.

Is “inchoate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪnˈkoʊət/ (in-KOH-uht); British English says /ɪnˈkəʊət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “inchoate” mean?

As an adjective: only partly in existence; imperfectly formed For example: “incipient civil disorder”

Where is the stress in “inchoate”?

Stress the second syllable: inc-HOAT-e. “hoat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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