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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “necessity”

“necessity” is pronounced /nəˈsɛsəti/ (nuh-SE-suh-tee) in American English and /nəsɛsɪti/ in British English, and /nəˈsɛsɪti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “es”.
The sound

Say “necessity” in 4 beats

Say it like this

necessity

/nəˈsɛsəti/

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

4 beats
  1. necnə
  2. essɛstress
  3. sitsə
  4. yti
IPA (American)
/nəˈsɛsəti/
IPA (British)
/nəsɛsɪti/
Also accepted
/nəˈsɛsɪti/
Respelling
nuh-SE-suh-tee
Syllables
4 — nec-ES-sit-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: nec-ES-sit-y. “es” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/nəˈsɛsəti/

British

/nəsɛsɪti/

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

Meaning

What “necessity” means

  1. noun

    the condition of being essential or indispensable

  2. noun

    anything indispensable

    “food and shelter are necessities of life”

Say it in a sentence

“A warm coat is a necessity rather than a luxury here.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
nnəschwa×2ss×2ɛshort ettilong e

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

Questions

“necessity”, answered

How do you pronounce “necessity”?

“necessity” is pronounced /nəˈsɛsəti/ (nuh-SE-suh-tee) in American English and /nəsɛsɪti/ in British English, and /nəˈsɛsɪti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “es”. Build it as nec-ES-sit-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “necessity” have?

4: nec · es · sit · y. The beat lands on the second, “es”.

Is “necessity” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /nəˈsɛsəti/ (nuh-SE-suh-tee); British English says /nəsɛsɪti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “necessity” mean?

As a noun: the condition of being essential or indispensable For example: “A warm coat is a necessity rather than a luxury here.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “necessity”?

Stress the second syllable: nec-ES-sit-y. “es” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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