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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “pernicious”

“pernicious” is pronounced /pɚˈnɪʃəs/ (puh-NI-shuhs) in American English and /pɜːnɪʃəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “nic”.
The sound

Say “pernicious” in 3 beats

Say it like this

pernicious

/pɚˈnɪʃəs/

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

3 beats
  1. perpɚ
  2. nicnɪstress
  3. iousʃəs
IPA (American)
/pɚˈnɪʃəs/
IPA (British)
/pɜːnɪʃəs/
Respelling
puh-NI-shuhs
Syllables
3 — per-NIC-ious
Stress
Stress the second syllable: per-NIC-ious. “nic” 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

/pɚˈnɪʃəs/

British

/pɜːnɪʃəs/

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

Meaning

What “pernicious” means

  1. adjective

    exceedingly harmful

  2. adjective

    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way

    “glaucoma is an insidious disease”

Say it in a sentence

“Damp is a pernicious problem in these old stone houses.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɚschwa×2nnɪshort iʃshss

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

Questions

“pernicious”, answered

How do you pronounce “pernicious”?

“pernicious” is pronounced /pɚˈnɪʃəs/ (puh-NI-shuhs) in American English and /pɜːnɪʃəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “nic”. Build it as per-NIC-ious, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “pernicious” have?

3: per · nic · ious. The beat lands on the second, “nic”.

Is “pernicious” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɚˈnɪʃəs/ (puh-NI-shuhs); British English says /pɜːnɪʃəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “pernicious” mean?

As an adjective: exceedingly harmful For example: “Damp is a pernicious problem in these old stone houses.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “pernicious”?

Stress the second syllable: per-NIC-ious. “nic” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

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