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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “initiate”

“initiate” is pronounced /ˌɪˈnɪʃiˌeɪt/ (i-NI-shee-ayt) in American English and /ɪnɪʃɪeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “it”.
The sound

Say “initiate” in 4 beats

Say it like this

initiate

/ˌɪˈnɪʃiˌeɪt/

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

4 beats
  1. inɪ
  2. itnɪstress
  3. iatʃi
  4. eeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˌɪˈnɪʃiˌeɪt/
IPA (British)
/ɪnɪʃɪeɪt/
Respelling
i-NI-shee-ayt
Syllables
4 — in-IT-iat-e
Stress
Stress the second syllable: in-IT-iat-e. “it” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪˈnɪʃiˌeɪt/

British

/ɪnɪʃɪeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “initiate” means

  1. noun

    someone new to a field or activity

  2. noun

    someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

  3. noun

    people who have been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity

    “it is very familiar to the initiate”

Say it in a sentence

“She will initiate the repairs as soon as funds allow.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort i×2nnʃshilong eeɪlong att

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

Questions

“initiate”, answered

How do you pronounce “initiate”?

“initiate” is pronounced /ˌɪˈnɪʃiˌeɪt/ (i-NI-shee-ayt) in American English and /ɪnɪʃɪeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “it”. Build it as in-IT-iat-e, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “initiate” have?

4: in · it · iat · e. The beat lands on the second, “it”.

Is “initiate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪˈnɪʃiˌeɪt/ (i-NI-shee-ayt); British English says /ɪnɪʃɪeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “initiate” mean?

As a noun: someone new to a field or activity For example: “She will initiate the repairs as soon as funds allow.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “initiate”?

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

Practise this word

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