Pronunciation

How to pronounce “profligate

“profligate” is pronounced /ˈpɹɔflɪˌɡeɪt/ (PRAW-fli-gayt) in American English and /pɹɒflɪɡeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “pɹɔ”.
The sound

Say “profligate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

profligate

/ˈpɹɔflɪˌɡeɪt/

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

3 beats
  1. pɹɔpɹɔstress
  2. flɪflɪ
  3. ɡeɪtɡeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈpɹɔflɪˌɡeɪt/
IPA (British)
/pɹɒflɪɡeɪt/
Respelling
PRAW-fli-gayt
Syllables
3 — PɹƆ-flɪ-ɡeɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: PɹƆ-flɪ-ɡeɪt. “pɹɔ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈpɹɔflɪˌɡeɪt/

British

/pɹɒflɪɡeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “profligate” means

  1. noun

    a dissolute man in fashionable society

  2. noun

    a recklessly extravagant consumer

  3. adjective

    recklessly wasteful

    prodigal in their expenditures

Say it in a sentence

The old profligate spent every penny and regretted nothing.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 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

profligate”, answered

How do you pronounce “profligate”?

“profligate” is pronounced /ˈpɹɔflɪˌɡeɪt/ (PRAW-fli-gayt) in American English and /pɹɒflɪɡeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “pɹɔ”. Build it as PɹƆ-flɪ-ɡeɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “profligate” have?

3: pɹɔ · flɪ · ɡeɪt. The beat lands on the first, “pɹɔ”.

Is “profligate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpɹɔflɪˌɡeɪt/ (PRAW-fli-gayt); British English says /pɹɒflɪɡeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “profligate” mean?

As a noun: a dissolute man in fashionable society For example: “The old profligate spent every penny and regretted nothing.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “profligate”?

Stress the first syllable: PɹƆ-flɪ-ɡeɪt. “pɹɔ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “profligate” and see every sound

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