How to pronounce “reluctantly”
Say “reluctantly” in 4 beats
reluctantly
/ɹɪˈlʌktəntli/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɹɪlʌktəntli/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- relɹɪ
- uclʌkstress
- tanttənt
- lyli
- IPA (American)
- /ɹɪˈlʌktəntli/
- IPA (British)
- /ɹɪlʌktəntli/
- Respelling
- ri-LUK-tuhnt-lee
- Syllables
- 4 — rel-UC-tant-ly
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: rel-UC-tant-ly. “uc” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ɹɪˈlʌktəntli/
/ɹɪlʌktəntli/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “reluctantly” means
- adverb
with reluctance
Say it in a sentence
“He reluctantly agreed to chair the meeting one more time.”“reluctantly”, answered
How do you pronounce “reluctantly”?
“reluctantly” is pronounced /ɹɪˈlʌktəntli/ (ri-LUK-tuhnt-lee) in American English and /ɹɪlʌktəntli/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “uc”. Build it as rel-UC-tant-ly, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “reluctantly” have?
4: rel · uc · tant · ly. The beat lands on the second, “uc”.
Is “reluctantly” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɹɪˈlʌktəntli/ (ri-LUK-tuhnt-lee); British English says /ɹɪlʌktəntli/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “reluctantly” mean?
As an adverb: with reluctance For example: “He reluctantly agreed to chair the meeting one more time.”
Where is the stress in “reluctantly”?
Stress the second syllable: rel-UC-tant-ly. “uc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “reluctantly” 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.