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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “posthumous”

“posthumous” is pronounced /ˈpɑstʃəməs/ (POSS-chuh-muhs) in American English and /ˈpɒstjʊməs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “post”.
The sound

Say “posthumous” in 3 beats

Say it like this

posthumous

/ˈpɑstʃəməs/

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

3 beats
  1. postpɑsstress
  2. humtʃə
  3. ousməs
IPA (American)
/ˈpɑstʃəməs/
IPA (British)
/ˈpɒstjʊməs/
Respelling
POSS-chuh-muhs
Syllables
3 — POST-hum-ous
Stress
Stress the first syllable: POST-hum-ous. “post” 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

/ˈpɑstʃəməs/

British

/ˈpɒstjʊməs/

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

Watch out

Where “posthumous” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    “post-HYOO-mus”

    the h is silent and the stress is on the first syllable: POSS-chuh-muhs

Meaning

What “posthumous” means

  1. adjective

    occurring or coming into existence after a person's death

    “a posthumous award”

Say it in a sentence

“The collection was published in a posthumous edition.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɑahss×2tʃchəschwa×2mm

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

Questions

“posthumous”, answered

How do you pronounce “posthumous”?

“posthumous” is pronounced /ˈpɑstʃəməs/ (POSS-chuh-muhs) in American English and /ˈpɒstjʊməs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “post”. Build it as POST-hum-ous, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “posthumous” have?

3: post · hum · ous. The beat lands on the first, “post”.

Is “posthumous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpɑstʃəməs/ (POSS-chuh-muhs); British English says /ˈpɒstjʊməs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “posthumous” mean?

As an adjective: occurring or coming into existence after a person's death For example: “a posthumous award”

Where is the stress in “posthumous”?

Stress the first syllable: POST-hum-ous. “post” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

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