Pronunciation

How to pronounce “obdurate

“obdurate” is pronounced /ˈɑbdɚət/ (AHB-duh-uht) in American English and /ɒbdjʊəɹət/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɑb”.
The sound

Say “obdurate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

obdurate

/ˈɑbdɚət/

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

3 beats
  1. ɑbɑbstress
  2. ətət
IPA (American)
/ˈɑbdɚət/
IPA (British)
/ɒbdjʊəɹət/
Respelling
AHB-duh-uht
Syllables
3 — ⱭB-dɚ-ət
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ⱭB-dɚ-ət. “ɑb” 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

/ˈɑbdɚət/

British

/ɒbdjʊəɹət/

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

Meaning

What “obdurate” means

  1. adjective

    stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing

  2. adjective

    showing unfeeling resistance to tender feelings

    his flinty gaze

Say it in a sentence

He remained obdurate about the fence, despite everything we said.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

obdurate”, answered

How do you pronounce “obdurate”?

“obdurate” is pronounced /ˈɑbdɚət/ (AHB-duh-uht) in American English and /ɒbdjʊəɹət/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɑb”. Build it as ⱭB-dɚ-ət, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “obdurate” have?

3: ɑb · dɚ · ət. The beat lands on the first, “ɑb”.

Is “obdurate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɑbdɚət/ (AHB-duh-uht); British English says /ɒbdjʊəɹət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “obdurate” mean?

As an adjective: stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing For example: “He remained obdurate about the fence, despite everything we said.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “obdurate”?

Stress the first syllable: ⱭB-dɚ-ət. “ɑb” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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