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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “ostentatious”

“ostentatious” is pronounced /ˌɑstənˈteɪʃəs/ (ah-stuhn-TAY-shuhs) in American English and /ɒstənteɪʃəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tat”.
The sound

Say “ostentatious” in 4 beats

Say it like this

ostentatious

/ˌɑstənˈteɪʃəs/

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

4 beats
  1. osɑ
  2. tenstən
  3. tatteɪstress
  4. iousʃəs
IPA (American)
/ˌɑstənˈteɪʃəs/
IPA (British)
/ɒstənteɪʃəs/
Respelling
ah-stuhn-TAY-shuhs
Syllables
4 — os-ten-TAT-ious
Stress
Stress the third syllable: os-ten-TAT-ious. “tat” 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

/ˌɑstənˈteɪʃəs/

British

/ɒstənteɪʃəs/

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

Meaning

What “ostentatious” means

  1. adjective

    intended to attract notice and impress others

    “an ostentatious sable coat”

  2. adjective

    (of a display) tawdry or vulgar

Say it in a sentence

“Their new gates are ostentatious even by local standards.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ɑahss×2tt×2əschwa×2nneɪlong aʃsh

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

Questions

“ostentatious”, answered

How do you pronounce “ostentatious”?

“ostentatious” is pronounced /ˌɑstənˈteɪʃəs/ (ah-stuhn-TAY-shuhs) in American English and /ɒstənteɪʃəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tat”. Build it as os-ten-TAT-ious, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “ostentatious” have?

4: os · ten · tat · ious. The beat lands on the third, “tat”.

Is “ostentatious” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɑstənˈteɪʃəs/ (ah-stuhn-TAY-shuhs); British English says /ɒstənteɪʃəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “ostentatious” mean?

As an adjective: intended to attract notice and impress others For example: “an ostentatious sable coat” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “ostentatious”?

Stress the third syllable: os-ten-TAT-ious. “tat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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