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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “paradoxical”

“paradoxical” is pronounced /ˌpɛɹəˈdɑksɪkəl/ (pe-ruh-DAHK-si-kuhl) in American English and /paɹədɒksɪkəl/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “ox”.
The sound

Say “paradoxical” in 5 beats

Say it like this

paradoxical

/ˌpɛɹəˈdɑksɪkəl/

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

5 beats
  1. parpɛ
  2. adɹə
  3. oxdɑkstress
  4. icsɪ
  5. alkəl
IPA (American)
/ˌpɛɹəˈdɑksɪkəl/
IPA (British)
/paɹədɒksɪkəl/
Respelling
pe-ruh-DAHK-si-kuhl
Syllables
5 — par-ad-OX-ic-al
Stress
Stress the third syllable: par-ad-OX-ic-al. “ox” 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

/ˌpɛɹəˈdɑksɪkəl/

British

/paɹədɒksɪkəl/

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

Meaning

What “paradoxical” means

  1. adjective

    seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true

    “it is paradoxical that standing is more tiring than walking”

Say it in a sentence

“Her paradoxical advice was to hurry up and slow down.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

10 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɛshort eɹrəschwa×2ddɑahkk×2ssɪshort ill

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

Questions

“paradoxical”, answered

How do you pronounce “paradoxical”?

“paradoxical” is pronounced /ˌpɛɹəˈdɑksɪkəl/ (pe-ruh-DAHK-si-kuhl) in American English and /paɹədɒksɪkəl/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “ox”. Build it as par-ad-OX-ic-al, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “paradoxical” have?

5: par · ad · ox · ic · al. The beat lands on the third, “ox”.

Is “paradoxical” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌpɛɹəˈdɑksɪkəl/ (pe-ruh-DAHK-si-kuhl); British English says /paɹədɒksɪkəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “paradoxical” mean?

As an adjective: seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true For example: “it is paradoxical that standing is more tiring than walking”

Where is the stress in “paradoxical”?

Stress the third syllable: par-ad-OX-ic-al. “ox” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

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