How to pronounce “motivation”
Say “motivation” in 4 beats
motivation
/ˌmoʊtəˈveɪʃən/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /məʊtɪveɪʃən/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- motmoʊ
- ivtə
- atveɪstress
- ionʃən
- IPA (American)
- /ˌmoʊtəˈveɪʃən/
- IPA (British)
- /məʊtɪveɪʃən/
- Respelling
- moh-tuh-VAY-shuhn
- Syllables
- 4 — mot-iv-AT-ion
- Stress
- Stress the third syllable: mot-iv-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˌmoʊtəˈveɪʃən/
/məʊtɪveɪʃən/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “motivation” means
- noun
the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
“we did not understand his motivation”
- noun
the condition of being motivated
“his motivation was at a high level”
- noun
the act of motivating; providing incentive
Say it in a sentence
“His motivation came from wanting to read his grandmother's letters.”“motivation”, answered
How do you pronounce “motivation”?
“motivation” is pronounced /ˌmoʊtəˈveɪʃən/ (moh-tuh-VAY-shuhn) in American English and /məʊtɪveɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”. Build it as mot-iv-AT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “motivation” have?
4: mot · iv · at · ion. The beat lands on the third, “at”.
Is “motivation” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌmoʊtəˈveɪʃən/ (moh-tuh-VAY-shuhn); British English says /məʊtɪveɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “motivation” mean?
As a noun: the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior For example: “we did not understand his motivation” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “motivation”?
Stress the third syllable: mot-iv-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “motivation” 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.