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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “provocative”

“provocative” is pronounced /pɹoʊˈvɑkətɪv/ (proh-VAH-kuh-tiv) in American English and /pɹəvɒkətɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “vɑ”.
The sound

Say “provocative” in 4 beats

Say it like this

provocative

/pɹoʊˈvɑkətɪv/

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

4 beats
  1. pɹoʊpɹoʊ
  2. vɑvɑstress
  3. kəkə
  4. tɪvtɪv
IPA (American)
/pɹoʊˈvɑkətɪv/
IPA (British)
/pɹəvɒkətɪv/
Respelling
proh-VAH-kuh-tiv
Syllables
4 — pɹoʊ-VⱭ-kə-tɪv
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pɹoʊ-VⱭ-kə-tɪv. “vɑ” 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

/pɹoʊˈvɑkətɪv/

British

/pɹəvɒkətɪv/

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

Meaning

What “provocative” means

  1. adjective

    serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate; stimulating discussion or exciting controversy; ; ; - Anthony Trollope

    “a provocative remark”

  2. adjective

    exciting sexual desire

    “her gestures and postures became more wanton and provocative”

Say it in a sentence

“Her provocative question got the whole room arguing happily.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɹroʊlong ovv×2ɑahkkəschwattɪshort i

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

Questions

“provocative”, answered

How do you pronounce “provocative”?

“provocative” is pronounced /pɹoʊˈvɑkətɪv/ (proh-VAH-kuh-tiv) in American English and /pɹəvɒkətɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “vɑ”. Build it as pɹoʊ-VⱭ-kə-tɪv, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “provocative” have?

4: pɹoʊ · vɑ · kə · tɪv. The beat lands on the second, “vɑ”.

Is “provocative” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɹoʊˈvɑkətɪv/ (proh-VAH-kuh-tiv); British English says /pɹəvɒkətɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “provocative” mean?

As an adjective: serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate; stimulating discussion or exciting controversy; ; ; - Anthony Trollope For example: “a provocative remark” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “provocative”?

Stress the second syllable: pɹoʊ-VⱭ-kə-tɪv. “vɑ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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