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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “influential”

“influential” is pronounced /ˌɪnfluˈɛnʃəl/ (in-floo-EN-shuhl) in American English and /ɪnfluːɛnʃəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “ɛn”.
The sound

Say “influential” in 4 beats

Say it like this

influential

/ˌɪnfluˈɛnʃəl/

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

4 beats
  1. ɪnɪn
  2. fluflu
  3. ɛnɛnstress
  4. ʃəlʃəl
IPA (American)
/ˌɪnfluˈɛnʃəl/
IPA (British)
/ɪnfluːɛnʃəl/
Respelling
in-floo-EN-shuhl
Syllables
4 — ɪn-flu-ƐN-ʃəl
Stress
Stress the third syllable: ɪn-flu-ƐN-ʃəl. “ɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪnfluˈɛnʃəl/

British

/ɪnfluːɛnʃəl/

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

Meaning

What “influential” means

  1. adjective

    having or exercising influence or power

    “an influential newspaper”

Say it in a sentence

“One influential letter changed the council's mind completely.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort inn×2ffll×2ulong ooɛshort eʃshəschwa

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

Questions

“influential”, answered

How do you pronounce “influential”?

“influential” is pronounced /ˌɪnfluˈɛnʃəl/ (in-floo-EN-shuhl) in American English and /ɪnfluːɛnʃəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “ɛn”. Build it as ɪn-flu-ƐN-ʃəl, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “influential” have?

4: ɪn · flu · ɛn · ʃəl. The beat lands on the third, “ɛn”.

Is “influential” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪnfluˈɛnʃəl/ (in-floo-EN-shuhl); British English says /ɪnfluːɛnʃəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “influential” mean?

As an adjective: having or exercising influence or power For example: “an influential newspaper”

Where is the stress in “influential”?

Stress the third syllable: ɪn-flu-ƐN-ʃəl. “ɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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