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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “instigate”

“instigate” is pronounced /ˈɪnstəˌɡeɪt/ (IN-stuh-gayt) in American English and /ɪnstɪɡeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɪn”.
The sound

Say “instigate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

instigate

/ˈɪnstəˌɡeɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. ɪnɪnstress
  2. stəstə
  3. ɡeɪtɡeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈɪnstəˌɡeɪt/
IPA (British)
/ɪnstɪɡeɪt/
Respelling
IN-stuh-gayt
Syllables
3 — ꞮN-stə-ɡeɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ꞮN-stə-ɡeɪt. “ɪn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɪnstəˌɡeɪt/

British

/ɪnstɪɡeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “instigate” means

  1. verb

    provoke or stir up

    “incite a riot”

  2. verb

    serve as the inciting cause of

    “She prompted me to call my relatives”

Say it in a sentence

“Two older boys instigate most of the trouble here.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort innsstt×2əschwaɡgeɪlong a

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

Questions

“instigate”, answered

How do you pronounce “instigate”?

“instigate” is pronounced /ˈɪnstəˌɡeɪt/ (IN-stuh-gayt) in American English and /ɪnstɪɡeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɪn”. Build it as ꞮN-stə-ɡeɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “instigate” have?

3: ɪn · stə · ɡeɪt. The beat lands on the first, “ɪn”.

Is “instigate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɪnstəˌɡeɪt/ (IN-stuh-gayt); British English says /ɪnstɪɡeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “instigate” mean?

As a verb: provoke or stir up For example: “incite a riot” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “instigate”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “instigate” and see every sound

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