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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “obesity”

“obesity” is pronounced /oʊˈbisəti/ (oh-BEE-suh-tee) in American English and /əʊbiːsəti/ in British English, and /əˈbisəti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “es”.
The sound

Say “obesity” in 4 beats

Say it like this

obesity

/oʊˈbisəti/

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

4 beats
  1. oboʊ
  2. esbistress
  3. itsə
  4. yti
IPA (American)
/oʊˈbisəti/
IPA (British)
/əʊbiːsəti/
Also accepted
/əˈbisəti/
Respelling
oh-BEE-suh-tee
Syllables
4 — ob-ES-it-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ob-ES-it-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

/oʊˈbisəti/

British

/əʊbiːsəti/

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

Meaning

What “obesity” means

  1. noun

    more than average fatness

Say it in a sentence

“Obesity rates fell slightly after the school meals changed.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
oʊlong obbilong e×2ssəschwatt

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

Questions

“obesity”, answered

How do you pronounce “obesity”?

“obesity” is pronounced /oʊˈbisəti/ (oh-BEE-suh-tee) in American English and /əʊbiːsəti/ in British English, and /əˈbisəti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “es”. Build it as ob-ES-it-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “obesity” have?

4: ob · es · it · y. The beat lands on the second, “es”.

Is “obesity” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /oʊˈbisəti/ (oh-BEE-suh-tee); British English says /əʊbiːsəti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “obesity” mean?

As a noun: more than average fatness For example: “Obesity rates fell slightly after the school meals changed.”

Where is the stress in “obesity”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “obesity” and see every sound

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