How to pronounce “rebel”
“rebel” is said two ways
/ˈɹɛbəl/
REB-uhl
The person. Beat on REB.
/ɹɪˈbɛl/
rih-BEL
To rise up. Beat on BEL.
Listen for the beat, not the letters
One syllable gets longer, louder and a step higher, and the other one collapses towards a schwa. Say the whole sentence rather than the word on its own and let the grammar pull the beat where it belongs.Both forms live in one sentence here: “A rebel will rebel again the moment the rules tighten.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “rebel” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the noun and the verb. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “rebel” in 2 beats
rebel
/ˈɹɛbəl/
Everything in this card describes the noun form. As a verb it is /ɹɪˈbɛl/.
The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- rebɹɛstress
- elbəl
- IPA (American)
- /ˈɹɛbəl/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈɹɛbəl/
- Respelling
- REB-uhl (noun) · rih-BEL (verb)
- Syllables
- 2 — REB-el
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: REB-el. “reb” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Where “rebel” goes wrong
- Often heard
“REB-uhl against the rules”
rising up is rih-BEL; REB-uhl is the person doing it
What “rebel” means
- noun
`Johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; `greyback' derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
- noun
a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions)
- noun
someone who exhibits great independence in thought and action
Say it in a sentence
“A rebel will rebel again the moment the rules tighten.”“rebel”, answered
How do you pronounce “rebel”?
“rebel” has two pronunciations: /ˈɹɛbəl/ as a noun and /ɹɪˈbɛl/ as a verb — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the beat does, and the vowels reshape around wherever it lands. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the noun form. Build it as REB-el, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “rebel” have?
2: reb · el. The beat lands on the first, “reb”.
Which pronunciation of “rebel” is correct?
Both are. /ˈɹɛbəl/ (REB-uhl) as a noun; /ɹɪˈbɛl/ (rih-BEL) as a verb. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does. Move the beat and the word changes its job mid-sentence, which is why both are worth drilling. Both appear here: “A rebel will rebel again the moment the rules tighten.”
What does “rebel” mean?
As a noun: `Johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; `greyback' derived from their grey Confederate uniforms For example: “A rebel will rebel again the moment the rules tighten.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “rebel”?
Stress the first syllable: REB-el. “reb” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “rebel” 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.