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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “protracted”

“protracted” is pronounced /pɹoʊˈtɹæktɪd/ (proh-TRAK-tid) in American English and /pɹətɹaktɪd/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “rac”.
The sound

Say “protracted” in 3 beats

Say it like this

protracted

/pɹoʊˈtɹæktɪd/

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

3 beats
  1. protpɹoʊ
  2. ractɹækstress
  3. tedtɪd
IPA (American)
/pɹoʊˈtɹæktɪd/
IPA (British)
/pɹətɹaktɪd/
Respelling
proh-TRAK-tid
Syllables
3 — prot-RAC-ted
Stress
Stress the second syllable: prot-RAC-ted. “rac” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pɹoʊˈtɹæktɪd/

British

/pɹətɹaktɪd/

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

Meaning

What “protracted” means

  1. verb

    lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer

    “We prolonged our stay”

  2. adjective

    relatively long in duration; tediously protracted

    “a drawn-out argument”

Say it in a sentence

“A protracted argument about the hedge ruined the whole summer.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɹr×2oʊlong ott×2æshort akkɪshort idd

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

Questions

“protracted”, answered

How do you pronounce “protracted”?

“protracted” is pronounced /pɹoʊˈtɹæktɪd/ (proh-TRAK-tid) in American English and /pɹətɹaktɪd/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “rac”. Build it as prot-RAC-ted, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “protracted” have?

3: prot · rac · ted. The beat lands on the second, “rac”.

Is “protracted” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɹoʊˈtɹæktɪd/ (proh-TRAK-tid); British English says /pɹətɹaktɪd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “protracted” mean?

As a verb: lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer For example: “We prolonged our stay” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “protracted”?

Stress the second syllable: prot-RAC-ted. “rac” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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