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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “paramount”

“paramount” is pronounced /ˈpɛɹəˌmaʊnt/ (PE-ruh-mownt) in American English and /paɹəmaʊnt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “par”.
The sound

Say “paramount” in 3 beats

Say it like this

paramount

/ˈpɛɹəˌmaʊnt/

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

3 beats
  1. parpɛstress
  2. amɹə
  3. ountmaʊnt
IPA (American)
/ˈpɛɹəˌmaʊnt/
IPA (British)
/paɹəmaʊnt/
Respelling
PE-ruh-mownt
Syllables
3 — PAR-am-ount
Stress
Stress the first syllable: PAR-am-ount. “par” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈpɛɹəˌmaʊnt/

British

/paɹəmaʊnt/

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

Meaning

What “paramount” means

  1. adjective

    having superior power and influence

    “the predominant mood among policy-makers is optimism”

Say it in a sentence

“Safety is paramount when the tide comes in that fast.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɛshort eɹrəschwammaʊownntt

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

Questions

“paramount”, answered

How do you pronounce “paramount”?

“paramount” is pronounced /ˈpɛɹəˌmaʊnt/ (PE-ruh-mownt) in American English and /paɹəmaʊnt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “par”. Build it as PAR-am-ount, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “paramount” have?

3: par · am · ount. The beat lands on the first, “par”.

Is “paramount” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpɛɹəˌmaʊnt/ (PE-ruh-mownt); British English says /paɹəmaʊnt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “paramount” mean?

As an adjective: having superior power and influence For example: “the predominant mood among policy-makers is optimism”

Where is the stress in “paramount”?

Stress the first syllable: PAR-am-ount. “par” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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