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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “reticent”

“reticent” is pronounced /ˈɹɛtɪsənt/ (RE-ti-suhnt) in American English and /ɹɛtɪsənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ret”.
The sound

Say “reticent” in 3 beats

Say it like this

reticent

/ˈɹɛtɪsənt/

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

3 beats
  1. retɹɛstress
  2. ictɪ
  3. entsənt
IPA (American)
/ˈɹɛtɪsənt/
IPA (British)
/ɹɛtɪsənt/
Respelling
RE-ti-suhnt
Syllables
3 — RET-ic-ent
Stress
Stress the first syllable: RET-ic-ent. “ret” 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

/ˈɹɛtɪsənt/

British

/ɹɛtɪsənt/

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

Meaning

What “reticent” means

  1. adjective

    temperamentally disinclined to talk

  2. adjective

    cool and formal in manner

  3. adjective

    reluctant to draw attention to yourself

Say it in a sentence

“He is reticent about his years at sea.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ɹrɛshort ett×2ɪshort issəschwann

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

Questions

“reticent”, answered

How do you pronounce “reticent”?

“reticent” is pronounced /ˈɹɛtɪsənt/ (RE-ti-suhnt) in American English and /ɹɛtɪsənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ret”. Build it as RET-ic-ent, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “reticent” have?

3: ret · ic · ent. The beat lands on the first, “ret”.

Is “reticent” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɹɛtɪsənt/ (RE-ti-suhnt); British English says /ɹɛtɪsənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “reticent” mean?

As an adjective: temperamentally disinclined to talk For example: “He is reticent about his years at sea.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “reticent”?

Stress the first syllable: RET-ic-ent. “ret” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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