sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “initiative”

“initiative” is pronounced /ˌɪˈnɪʃətɪv/ (i-NI-shuh-tiv) in American English and /ɪnɪʃiətɪv/ in British English, and /ˌɪˈnɪʃjətɪv/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “nɪ”.
The sound

Say “initiative” in 4 beats

Say it like this

initiative

/ˌɪˈnɪʃətɪv/

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

4 beats
  1. ɪɪ
  2. nɪnɪstress
  3. ʃəʃə
  4. tɪvtɪv
IPA (American)
/ˌɪˈnɪʃətɪv/
IPA (British)
/ɪnɪʃiətɪv/
Also accepted
/ˌɪˈnɪʃjətɪv/
Respelling
i-NI-shuh-tiv
Syllables
4 — ɪ-NꞮ-ʃə-tɪv
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɪ-NꞮ-ʃə-tɪv. “nɪ” 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

/ˌɪˈnɪʃətɪv/

British

/ɪnɪʃiətɪv/

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

Meaning

What “initiative” means

  1. noun

    readiness to embark on bold new ventures

  2. noun

    the first of a series of actions

  3. adjective

    serving to set in motion

    “the magazine's inaugural issue”

Say it in a sentence

“The recycling initiative began with a single street.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort i×3nnʃshəschwattvv

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

Questions

“initiative”, answered

How do you pronounce “initiative”?

“initiative” is pronounced /ˌɪˈnɪʃətɪv/ (i-NI-shuh-tiv) in American English and /ɪnɪʃiətɪv/ in British English, and /ˌɪˈnɪʃjətɪv/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “nɪ”. Build it as ɪ-NꞮ-ʃə-tɪv, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “initiative” have?

4: ɪ · nɪ · ʃə · tɪv. The beat lands on the second, “nɪ”.

Is “initiative” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪˈnɪʃətɪv/ (i-NI-shuh-tiv); British English says /ɪnɪʃiətɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “initiative” mean?

As a noun: readiness to embark on bold new ventures For example: “The recycling initiative began with a single street.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “initiative”?

Stress the second syllable: ɪ-NꞮ-ʃə-tɪv. “nɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “initiative” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.

Practise this word freeMore words with I