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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “prolific”

“prolific” is pronounced /pɹoʊˈlɪfɪk/ (proh-LI-fik) in American English and /pɹəlɪfɪk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “if”.
The sound

Say “prolific” in 3 beats

Say it like this

prolific

/pɹoʊˈlɪfɪk/

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

3 beats
  1. prolpɹoʊ
  2. iflɪstress
  3. icfɪk
IPA (American)
/pɹoʊˈlɪfɪk/
IPA (British)
/pɹəlɪfɪk/
Respelling
proh-LI-fik
Syllables
3 — prol-IF-ic
Stress
Stress the second syllable: prol-IF-ic. “if” 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

/pɹoʊˈlɪfɪk/

British

/pɹəlɪfɪk/

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

Meaning

What “prolific” means

  1. adjective

    intellectually productive

    “a prolific writer”

  2. adjective

    bearing in abundance especially offspring

    “flying foxes are extremely prolific”

Say it in a sentence

“He is a prolific letter writer, even now.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɹroʊlong ollɪshort i×2ffkk

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

Questions

“prolific”, answered

How do you pronounce “prolific”?

“prolific” is pronounced /pɹoʊˈlɪfɪk/ (proh-LI-fik) in American English and /pɹəlɪfɪk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “if”. Build it as prol-IF-ic, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “prolific” have?

3: prol · if · ic. The beat lands on the second, “if”.

Is “prolific” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɹoʊˈlɪfɪk/ (proh-LI-fik); British English says /pɹəlɪfɪk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “prolific” mean?

As an adjective: intellectually productive For example: “a prolific writer” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “prolific”?

Stress the second syllable: prol-IF-ic. “if” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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