How to pronounce “prevent”
Say “prevent” in 2 beats
prevent
/pɹɪˈvɛnt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /pɹɪvɛnt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- prevpɹɪ
- entvɛntstress
- IPA (American)
- /pɹɪˈvɛnt/
- IPA (British)
- /pɹɪvɛnt/
- Also accepted
- /pɹiˈvɛnt/
- Respelling
- pri-VENT
- Syllables
- 2 — prev-ENT
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: prev-ENT. “ent” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/pɹɪˈvɛnt/
/pɹɪvɛnt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “prevent” means
- verb
keep from happening or arising; make impossible
“My sense of tact forbids an honest answer”
- verb
stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state
“We must prevent the cancer from spreading”
Say it in a sentence
“The fence was built to prevent deer from reaching the garden.”“prevent”, answered
How do you pronounce “prevent”?
“prevent” is pronounced /pɹɪˈvɛnt/ (pri-VENT) in American English and /pɹɪvɛnt/ in British English, and /pɹiˈvɛnt/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “ent”. Build it as prev-ENT, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “prevent” have?
2: prev · ent. The beat lands on the second, “ent”.
Is “prevent” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /pɹɪˈvɛnt/ (pri-VENT); British English says /pɹɪvɛnt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “prevent” mean?
As a verb: keep from happening or arising; make impossible For example: “My sense of tact forbids an honest answer” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “prevent”?
Stress the second syllable: prev-ENT. “ent” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “prevent” 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.