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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “reliable”

“reliable” is pronounced /ɹɪˈlaɪəbəl/ (ri-LY-uh-buhl) in American English and /ɹɪlaɪəbəl/ in British English, and /ɹiˈlaɪəbəl/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “laɪ”.
The sound

Say “reliable” in 4 beats

Say it like this

reliable

/ɹɪˈlaɪəbəl/

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

4 beats
  1. ɹɪɹɪ
  2. laɪlaɪstress
  3. əə
  4. bəlbəl
IPA (American)
/ɹɪˈlaɪəbəl/
IPA (British)
/ɹɪlaɪəbəl/
Also accepted
/ɹiˈlaɪəbəl/
Respelling
ri-LY-uh-buhl
Syllables
4 — ɹɪ-LAꞮ-ə-bəl
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɹɪ-LAꞮ-ə-bəl. “laɪ” 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

/ɹɪˈlaɪəbəl/

British

/ɹɪlaɪəbəl/

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

Meaning

What “reliable” means

  1. adjective

    worthy of reliance or trust

    “a reliable source of information”

  2. adjective

    worthy of being depended on

    “a dependable worker”

  3. adjective

    conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief

    “an authentic account by an eyewitness”

Say it in a sentence

“He is the most reliable person on the whole team.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɹrɪshort ill×2aɪlong iəschwa×2bb

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

Questions

“reliable”, answered

How do you pronounce “reliable”?

“reliable” is pronounced /ɹɪˈlaɪəbəl/ (ri-LY-uh-buhl) in American English and /ɹɪlaɪəbəl/ in British English, and /ɹiˈlaɪəbəl/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “laɪ”. Build it as ɹɪ-LAꞮ-ə-bəl, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “reliable” have?

4: ɹɪ · laɪ · ə · bəl. The beat lands on the second, “laɪ”.

Is “reliable” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɹɪˈlaɪəbəl/ (ri-LY-uh-buhl); British English says /ɹɪlaɪəbəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “reliable” mean?

As an adjective: worthy of reliance or trust For example: “a reliable source of information” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “reliable”?

Stress the second syllable: ɹɪ-LAꞮ-ə-bəl. “laɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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