Pronunciation

How to pronounce “legislate

“legislate” is pronounced /ˈlɛdʒɪˌsleɪt/ (LE-ji-slayt) in American English and /lɛdʒɪsleɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “lɛ”.
The sound

Say “legislate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

legislate

/ˈlɛdʒɪˌsleɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. stress
  2. dʒɪdʒɪ
  3. sleɪtsleɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈlɛdʒɪˌsleɪt/
IPA (British)
/lɛdʒɪsleɪt/
Respelling
LE-ji-slayt
Syllables
3 — LƐ-dʒɪ-sleɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: LƐ-dʒɪ-sleɪt. “lɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈlɛdʒɪˌsleɪt/

British

/lɛdʒɪsleɪt/

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

Meaning

What “legislate” means

  1. verb

    make laws, bills, etc. or bring into effect by legislation

    They passed the amendment

Say it in a sentence

You cannot legislate for common sense on a narrow lane.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

legislate”, answered

How do you pronounce “legislate”?

“legislate” is pronounced /ˈlɛdʒɪˌsleɪt/ (LE-ji-slayt) in American English and /lɛdʒɪsleɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “lɛ”. Build it as LƐ-dʒɪ-sleɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “legislate” have?

3: lɛ · dʒɪ · sleɪt. The beat lands on the first, “lɛ”.

Is “legislate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈlɛdʒɪˌsleɪt/ (LE-ji-slayt); British English says /lɛdʒɪsleɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “legislate” mean?

As a verb: make laws, bills, etc. or bring into effect by legislation For example: “They passed the amendment”

Where is the stress in “legislate”?

Stress the first syllable: LƐ-dʒɪ-sleɪt. “lɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “legislate” 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.