Pronunciation

How to pronounce “indicative

“indicative” is pronounced /ˌɪnˈdɪkətɪv/ (in-DI-kuh-tiv) in American English and /ɪndɪkətɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “dɪ”.
The sound

Say “indicative” in 4 beats

Say it like this

indicative

/ˌɪnˈdɪkətɪv/

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

4 beats
  1. ɪnɪn
  2. stress
  3. tɪvtɪv
IPA (American)
/ˌɪnˈdɪkətɪv/
IPA (British)
/ɪndɪkətɪv/
Respelling
in-DI-kuh-tiv
Syllables
4 — ɪn-DꞮ-kə-tɪv
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɪn-DꞮ-kə-tɪv. “dɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪnˈdɪkətɪv/

British

/ɪndɪkətɪv/

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

Meaning

What “indicative” means

  1. noun

    a mood (grammatically unmarked) that represents the act or state as an objective fact

  2. adjective

    relating to the mood of verbs that is used simple in declarative statements

    indicative mood

  3. adjective

    (usually followed by `of') pointing out or revealing clearly

    actions indicative of fear

Say it in a sentence

'She walks' is in the indicative, not the subjunctive.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

indicative”, answered

How do you pronounce “indicative”?

“indicative” is pronounced /ˌɪnˈdɪkətɪv/ (in-DI-kuh-tiv) in American English and /ɪndɪkətɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “dɪ”. Build it as ɪn-DꞮ-kə-tɪv, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “indicative” have?

4: ɪn · dɪ · kə · tɪv. The beat lands on the second, “dɪ”.

Is “indicative” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪnˈdɪkətɪv/ (in-DI-kuh-tiv); British English says /ɪndɪkətɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “indicative” mean?

As a noun: a mood (grammatically unmarked) that represents the act or state as an objective fact For example: “'She walks' is in the indicative, not the subjunctive.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “indicative”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “indicative” and see every sound

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