Pronunciation

How to pronounce “irrevocable

“irrevocable” is pronounced /ˌɪˈɹɛvəkəbəl/ (i-RE-vuh-kuh-buhl) in American English and /ɪɹɪvɒkəbəl/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “rev”.
The sound

Say “irrevocable” in 5 beats

Say it like this

irrevocable

/ˌɪˈɹɛvəkəbəl/

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

5 beats
  1. irɪ
  2. revɹɛstress
  3. oc
  4. ab
  5. lebəl
IPA (American)
/ˌɪˈɹɛvəkəbəl/
IPA (British)
/ɪɹɪvɒkəbəl/
Respelling
i-RE-vuh-kuh-buhl
Syllables
5 — ir-REV-oc-ab-le
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ir-REV-oc-ab-le. “rev” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪˈɹɛvəkəbəl/

British

/ɪɹɪvɒkəbəl/

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

Meaning

What “irrevocable” means

  1. adjective

    incapable of being retracted or revoked; - Shakespeare

    firm and irrevocable is my doom

Say it in a sentence

Signing the form makes the decision irrevocable.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

irrevocable”, answered

How do you pronounce “irrevocable”?

“irrevocable” is pronounced /ˌɪˈɹɛvəkəbəl/ (i-RE-vuh-kuh-buhl) in American English and /ɪɹɪvɒkəbəl/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “rev”. Build it as ir-REV-oc-ab-le, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “irrevocable” have?

5: ir · rev · oc · ab · le. The beat lands on the second, “rev”.

Is “irrevocable” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪˈɹɛvəkəbəl/ (i-RE-vuh-kuh-buhl); British English says /ɪɹɪvɒkəbəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “irrevocable” mean?

As an adjective: incapable of being retracted or revoked; - Shakespeare For example: “firm and irrevocable is my doom”

Where is the stress in “irrevocable”?

Stress the second syllable: ir-REV-oc-ab-le. “rev” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “irrevocable” 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.