Pronunciation

How to pronounce “panacea

“panacea” is pronounced /ˌpænəˈsiə/ (pan-uh-SEE-uh) in American English and /ˌpanəˈsiːə/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “si”.
The sound

Say “panacea” in 4 beats

Say it like this

panacea

/ˌpænəˈsiə/

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

4 beats
  1. sisistress
  2. əə
IPA (American)
/ˌpænəˈsiə/
IPA (British)
/ˌpanəˈsiːə/
Respelling
pan-uh-SEE-uh
Syllables
4 — pæ-nə-SI-ə
Stress
Stress the third syllable: pæ-nə-SI-ə. “si” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌpænəˈsiə/

British

/ˌpanəˈsiːə/

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

Watch out

Where “panacea” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    pan-uh-KEE-uh

    the c is soft here: pan-uh-SEE-uh

Meaning

What “panacea” means

  1. noun

    (Greek mythology) the goddess of healing; daughter of Aesculapius and sister of Hygeia

  2. noun

    hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemists

Say it in a sentence

More funding is helpful but it is not a panacea.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

panacea”, answered

How do you pronounce “panacea”?

“panacea” is pronounced /ˌpænəˈsiə/ (pan-uh-SEE-uh) in American English and /ˌpanəˈsiːə/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “si”. Build it as pæ-nə-SI-ə, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “panacea” have?

4: pæ · nə · si · ə. The beat lands on the third, “si”.

Is “panacea” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌpænəˈsiə/ (pan-uh-SEE-uh); British English says /ˌpanəˈsiːə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “panacea” mean?

As a noun: (Greek mythology) the goddess of healing; daughter of Aesculapius and sister of Hygeia For example: “More funding is helpful but it is not a panacea.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “panacea”?

Stress the third syllable: pæ-nə-SI-ə. “si” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “panacea” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.