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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “puerile”

“puerile” is pronounced /pjuˈɹil/ (pyoo-REEL) in American English and /pjuːɹaɪl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ɹil”.
The sound

Say “puerile” in 2 beats

Say it like this

puerile

/pjuˈɹil/

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

2 beats
  1. pjupju
  2. ɹilɹilstress
IPA (American)
/pjuˈɹil/
IPA (British)
/pjuːɹaɪl/
Respelling
pyoo-REEL
Syllables
2 — pju-ɹIL
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pju-ɹIL. “ɹil” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pjuˈɹil/

British

/pjuːɹaɪl/

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

Meaning

What “puerile” means

  1. adjective

    of or characteristic of a child

    “puerile breathing”

  2. adjective

    displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity

    “adolescent insecurity”

Say it in a sentence

“His puerile joke fell flat in front of the guests.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ppjyulong ooɹrilong ell

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

Questions

“puerile”, answered

How do you pronounce “puerile”?

“puerile” is pronounced /pjuˈɹil/ (pyoo-REEL) in American English and /pjuːɹaɪl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ɹil”. Build it as pju-ɹIL, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “puerile” have?

2: pju · ɹil. The beat lands on the second, “ɹil”.

Is “puerile” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pjuˈɹil/ (pyoo-REEL); British English says /pjuːɹaɪl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “puerile” mean?

As an adjective: of or characteristic of a child For example: “puerile breathing” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “puerile”?

Stress the second syllable: pju-ɹIL. “ɹil” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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