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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “nebulous”

“nebulous” is pronounced /ˈnɛbjələs/ (NE-byuh-luhs) in American English and /nɛbjʊləs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “neb”.
The sound

Say “nebulous” in 3 beats

Say it like this

nebulous

/ˈnɛbjələs/

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

3 beats
  1. nebnɛstress
  2. ulbjə
  3. ousləs
IPA (American)
/ˈnɛbjələs/
IPA (British)
/nɛbjʊləs/
Respelling
NE-byuh-luhs
Syllables
3 — NEB-ul-ous
Stress
Stress the first syllable: NEB-ul-ous. “neb” 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

/ˈnɛbjələs/

British

/nɛbjʊləs/

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

Meaning

What “nebulous” means

  1. adjective

    lacking definite form or limits; - H.T.Moore

    “gropes among cloudy issues toward a feeble conclusion”

  2. adjective

    of or relating to or resembling a nebula

    “the nebular hypothesis of the origin of the solar system”

  3. adjective

    lacking definition or definite content; ; - Jane Austen

    “nebulous reasons”

Say it in a sentence

“His plans for the summer stayed nebulous until June.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
nnɛshort ebbjyəschwa×2llss

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

Questions

“nebulous”, answered

How do you pronounce “nebulous”?

“nebulous” is pronounced /ˈnɛbjələs/ (NE-byuh-luhs) in American English and /nɛbjʊləs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “neb”. Build it as NEB-ul-ous, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “nebulous” have?

3: neb · ul · ous. The beat lands on the first, “neb”.

Is “nebulous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈnɛbjələs/ (NE-byuh-luhs); British English says /nɛbjʊləs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “nebulous” mean?

As an adjective: lacking definite form or limits; - H.T.Moore For example: “gropes among cloudy issues toward a feeble conclusion” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “nebulous”?

Stress the first syllable: NEB-ul-ous. “neb” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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