Pronunciation

How to pronounce “rapidly

“rapidly” is pronounced /ˈɹæpədli/ (RA-puhd-lee) in American English and /ɹapɪdli/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “rap”.
The sound

Say “rapidly” in 3 beats

Say it like this

rapidly

/ˈɹæpədli/

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

3 beats
  1. rapɹæstress
  2. idpəd
  3. lyli
IPA (American)
/ˈɹæpədli/
IPA (British)
/ɹapɪdli/
Respelling
RA-puhd-lee
Syllables
3 — RAP-id-ly
Stress
Stress the first syllable: RAP-id-ly. “rap” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adverb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɹæpədli/

British

/ɹapɪdli/

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

Meaning

What “rapidly” means

  1. adverb

    with rapid movements

    he works quickly

Say it in a sentence

The weather changed rapidly once we crossed the ridge.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

rapidly”, answered

How do you pronounce “rapidly”?

“rapidly” is pronounced /ˈɹæpədli/ (RA-puhd-lee) in American English and /ɹapɪdli/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “rap”. Build it as RAP-id-ly, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “rapidly” have?

3: rap · id · ly. The beat lands on the first, “rap”.

Is “rapidly” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɹæpədli/ (RA-puhd-lee); British English says /ɹapɪdli/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “rapidly” mean?

As an adverb: with rapid movements For example: “he works quickly”

Where is the stress in “rapidly”?

Stress the first syllable: RAP-id-ly. “rap” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “rapidly” 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.