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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “incidence”

“incidence” is pronounced /ˈɪnsədəns/ (IN-suh-duhns) in American English and /ɪnsɪdəns/ in British English, and /ˈɪnsɪdəns/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɪn”.
The sound

Say “incidence” in 3 beats

Say it like this

incidence

/ˈɪnsədəns/

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

3 beats
  1. ɪnɪnstress
  2. səsə
  3. dənsdəns
IPA (American)
/ˈɪnsədəns/
IPA (British)
/ɪnsɪdəns/
Also accepted
/ˈɪnsɪdəns/
Respelling
IN-suh-duhns
Syllables
3 — ꞮN-sə-dəns
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ꞮN-sə-dəns. “ɪn” 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

/ˈɪnsədəns/

British

/ɪnsɪdəns/

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

Meaning

What “incidence” means

  1. noun

    the relative frequency of occurrence of something

  2. noun

    the striking of a light beam on a surface

    “he measured the angle of incidence of the reflected light”

Say it in a sentence

“The incidence of colds always rises after half term.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort inn×2ss×2əschwa×2dd

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

Questions

“incidence”, answered

How do you pronounce “incidence”?

“incidence” is pronounced /ˈɪnsədəns/ (IN-suh-duhns) in American English and /ɪnsɪdəns/ in British English, and /ˈɪnsɪdəns/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɪn”. Build it as ꞮN-sə-dəns, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “incidence” have?

3: ɪn · sə · dəns. The beat lands on the first, “ɪn”.

Is “incidence” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɪnsədəns/ (IN-suh-duhns); British English says /ɪnsɪdəns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “incidence” mean?

As a noun: the relative frequency of occurrence of something For example: “The incidence of colds always rises after half term.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “incidence”?

Stress the first syllable: ꞮN-sə-dəns. “ɪn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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