Pronunciation

How to pronounce “salient

“salient” is pronounced /ˈseɪliənt/ (SAY-lee-uhnt) in American English and /seɪliənt/ in British English, and /ˈseɪljənt/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “seɪ”.
The sound

Say “salient” in 3 beats

Say it like this

salient

/ˈseɪliənt/

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

3 beats
  1. seɪseɪstress
  2. lili
  3. əntənt
IPA (American)
/ˈseɪliənt/
IPA (British)
/seɪliənt/
Also accepted
/ˈseɪljənt/
Respelling
SAY-lee-uhnt
Syllables
3 — SEꞮ-li-ənt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SEꞮ-li-ənt. “seɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈseɪliənt/

British

/seɪliənt/

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

Meaning

What “salient” means

  1. noun

    (military) the part of the line of battle that projects closest to the enemy

  2. adjective

    having a quality that thrusts itself into attention

    an outstanding fact of our time is that nations poisoned by anti semitism proved less fortunate in regard to their own freedom

  3. adjective

    (of angles) pointing outward at an angle of less than 180 degrees

Say it in a sentence

The salient in the line was hardest to defend.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

salient”, answered

How do you pronounce “salient”?

“salient” is pronounced /ˈseɪliənt/ (SAY-lee-uhnt) in American English and /seɪliənt/ in British English, and /ˈseɪljənt/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “seɪ”. Build it as SEꞮ-li-ənt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “salient” have?

3: seɪ · li · ənt. The beat lands on the first, “seɪ”.

Is “salient” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈseɪliənt/ (SAY-lee-uhnt); British English says /seɪliənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “salient” mean?

As a noun: (military) the part of the line of battle that projects closest to the enemy For example: “The salient in the line was hardest to defend.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “salient”?

Stress the first syllable: SEꞮ-li-ənt. “seɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “salient” 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.