How to pronounce “providential”
Say “providential” in 4 beats
providential
/ˌpɹɑvəˈdɛnʃəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /pɹɒvɪdɛnʃəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- provpɹɑ
- idvə
- endɛnstress
- tialʃəl
- IPA (American)
- /ˌpɹɑvəˈdɛnʃəl/
- IPA (British)
- /pɹɒvɪdɛnʃəl/
- Respelling
- prah-vuh-DEN-shuhl
- Syllables
- 4 — prov-id-EN-tial
- Stress
- Stress the third syllable: prov-id-EN-tial. “en” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Legend — spelling and sound part company here
American and British are not the same here
/ˌpɹɑvəˈdɛnʃəl/
/pɹɒvɪdɛnʃəl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “providential” means
- adjective
peculiarly fortunate or appropriate; as if by divine intervention
“a heaven-sent rain saved the crops”
- adjective
relating to or characteristic of providence; - M.R.Cohen
“assumption that nature operates only according to a providential plan”
- adjective
resulting from divine providence
“providential care”
Say it in a sentence
“The bus breaking down turned out to be providential.”“providential”, answered
How do you pronounce “providential”?
“providential” is pronounced /ˌpɹɑvəˈdɛnʃəl/ (prah-vuh-DEN-shuhl) in American English and /pɹɒvɪdɛnʃəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “en”. Build it as prov-id-EN-tial, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “providential” have?
4: prov · id · en · tial. The beat lands on the third, “en”.
Is “providential” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌpɹɑvəˈdɛnʃəl/ (prah-vuh-DEN-shuhl); British English says /pɹɒvɪdɛnʃəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “providential” mean?
As an adjective: peculiarly fortunate or appropriate; as if by divine intervention For example: “a heaven-sent rain saved the crops” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “providential”?
Stress the third syllable: prov-id-EN-tial. “en” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “providential” 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.