Pronunciation

How to pronounce “propitiate

“propitiate” is pronounced /pɹəˈpɪʃieɪt/ (pruh-PISH-ee-ayt) in American English and /pɹəˈpɪʃɪeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “it”.
The sound

Say “propitiate” in 4 beats

Say it like this

propitiate

/pɹəˈpɪʃieɪt/

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

4 beats
  1. proppɹə
  2. itstress
  3. iatʃi
  4. eeɪt
IPA (American)
/pɹəˈpɪʃieɪt/
IPA (British)
/pɹəˈpɪʃɪeɪt/
Respelling
pruh-PISH-ee-ayt
Syllables
4 — prop-IT-iat-e
Stress
Stress the second syllable: prop-IT-iat-e. “it” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pɹəˈpɪʃieɪt/

British

/pɹəˈpɪʃɪeɪt/

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

Watch out

Where “propitiate” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    pro-PY-shee-ayt

    the first i is short: pruh-PISH-ee-ayt

Meaning

What “propitiate” means

  1. verb

    make peace with

Say it in a sentence

They sent flowers to propitiate a very angry client.
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

propitiate”, answered

How do you pronounce “propitiate”?

“propitiate” is pronounced /pɹəˈpɪʃieɪt/ (pruh-PISH-ee-ayt) in American English and /pɹəˈpɪʃɪeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “it”. Build it as prop-IT-iat-e, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “propitiate” have?

4: prop · it · iat · e. The beat lands on the second, “it”.

Is “propitiate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɹəˈpɪʃieɪt/ (pruh-PISH-ee-ayt); British English says /pɹəˈpɪʃɪeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “propitiate” mean?

As a verb: make peace with For example: “They sent flowers to propitiate a very angry client.”

Where is the stress in “propitiate”?

Stress the second syllable: prop-IT-iat-e. “it” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “propitiate” and see every sound

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