How to pronounce “sanction”
Say “sanction” in 2 beats
sanction
/ˈsæŋkʃən/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /saŋkʃən/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- sancsæŋkstress
- tionʃən
- IPA (American)
- /ˈsæŋkʃən/
- IPA (British)
- /saŋkʃən/
- Respelling
- SANGK-shuhn
- Syllables
- 2 — SANC-tion
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: SANC-tion. “sanc” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ˈsæŋkʃən/
/saŋkʃən/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “sanction” means
- noun
formal and explicit approval
“a Democrat usually gets the union's endorsement”
- noun
a mechanism of social control for enforcing a society's standards
- noun
official permission or approval
“authority for the program was renewed several times”
Say it in a sentence
“The plan went ahead with the sanction of the trustees.”“sanction”, answered
How do you pronounce “sanction”?
“sanction” is pronounced /ˈsæŋkʃən/ (SANGK-shuhn) in American English and /saŋkʃən/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “sanc”. Build it as SANC-tion, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “sanction” have?
2: sanc · tion. The beat lands on the first, “sanc”.
Is “sanction” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈsæŋkʃən/ (SANGK-shuhn); British English says /saŋkʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “sanction” mean?
As a noun: formal and explicit approval For example: “a Democrat usually gets the union's endorsement” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “sanction”?
Stress the first syllable: SANC-tion. “sanc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “sanction” 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.