Pronunciation

How to pronounce “prevalent

“prevalent” is pronounced /ˈpɹɛvələnt/ (PRE-vuh-luhnt) in American English and /pɹɛvələnt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “prev”.
The sound

Say “prevalent” in 3 beats

Say it like this

prevalent

/ˈpɹɛvələnt/

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

3 beats
  1. prevpɹɛstress
  2. al
  3. entlənt
IPA (American)
/ˈpɹɛvələnt/
IPA (British)
/pɹɛvələnt/
Respelling
PRE-vuh-luhnt
Syllables
3 — PREV-al-ent
Stress
Stress the first syllable: PREV-al-ent. “prev” 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

/ˈpɹɛvələnt/

British

/pɹɛvələnt/

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

Meaning

What “prevalent” means

  1. adjective

    most frequent or common

    prevailing winds

Say it in a sentence

Woodworm is prevalent in the beams of these old cottages.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

prevalent”, answered

How do you pronounce “prevalent”?

“prevalent” is pronounced /ˈpɹɛvələnt/ (PRE-vuh-luhnt) in American English and /pɹɛvələnt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “prev”. Build it as PREV-al-ent, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “prevalent” have?

3: prev · al · ent. The beat lands on the first, “prev”.

Is “prevalent” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpɹɛvələnt/ (PRE-vuh-luhnt); British English says /pɹɛvələnt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “prevalent” mean?

As an adjective: most frequent or common For example: “prevailing winds”

Where is the stress in “prevalent”?

Stress the first syllable: PREV-al-ent. “prev” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “prevalent” 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.