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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “punctilious”

“punctilious” is pronounced /pəŋkˈtɪliəs/ (puhngk-TI-lee-uhs) in American English and /pʌŋktɪliəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tɪ”.
The sound

Say “punctilious” in 4 beats

Say it like this

punctilious

/pəŋkˈtɪliəs/

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

4 beats
  1. pəŋkpəŋk
  2. tɪtɪstress
  3. lili
  4. əsəs
IPA (American)
/pəŋkˈtɪliəs/
IPA (British)
/pʌŋktɪliəs/
Respelling
puhngk-TI-lee-uhs
Syllables
4 — pəŋk-TꞮ-li-əs
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pəŋk-TꞮ-li-əs. “tɪ” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pəŋkˈtɪliəs/

British

/pʌŋktɪliəs/

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

Meaning

What “punctilious” means

  1. adjective

    marked by precise accordance with details

    “meticulous research”

Say it in a sentence

“She is punctilious about returning everything she borrows.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
ppəschwaŋngkkttɪshort illɪəearss

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

Questions

“punctilious”, answered

How do you pronounce “punctilious”?

“punctilious” is pronounced /pəŋkˈtɪliəs/ (puhngk-TI-lee-uhs) in American English and /pʌŋktɪliəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tɪ”. Build it as pəŋk-TꞮ-li-əs, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “punctilious” have?

4: pəŋk · tɪ · li · əs. The beat lands on the second, “tɪ”.

Is “punctilious” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pəŋkˈtɪliəs/ (puhngk-TI-lee-uhs); British English says /pʌŋktɪliəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “punctilious” mean?

As an adjective: marked by precise accordance with details For example: “meticulous research”

Where is the stress in “punctilious”?

Stress the second syllable: pəŋk-TꞮ-li-əs. “tɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

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