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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “specious”

“specious” is pronounced /ˈspiʃəs/ (SPEE-shuhs) in American English and /spiːʃəs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “spec”.
The sound

Say “specious” in 2 beats

Say it like this

specious

/ˈspiʃəs/

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

2 beats
  1. specspistress
  2. iousʃəs
IPA (American)
/ˈspiʃəs/
IPA (British)
/spiːʃəs/
Respelling
SPEE-shuhs
Syllables
2 — SPEC-ious
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SPEC-ious. “spec” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls 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

/ˈspiʃəs/

British

/spiːʃəs/

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

Meaning

What “specious” means

  1. adjective

    plausible but false

    “a specious claim”

  2. adjective

    based on pretense; deceptively pleasing

    “the gilded and perfumed but inwardly rotten nobility”

Say it in a sentence

“His specious reasoning collapsed under two simple questions.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ss×2ppilong eʃshəschwa

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

Questions

“specious”, answered

How do you pronounce “specious”?

“specious” is pronounced /ˈspiʃəs/ (SPEE-shuhs) in American English and /spiːʃəs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “spec”. Build it as SPEC-ious, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “specious” have?

2: spec · ious. The beat lands on the first, “spec”.

Is “specious” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈspiʃəs/ (SPEE-shuhs); British English says /spiːʃəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “specious” mean?

As an adjective: plausible but false For example: “a specious claim” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “specious”?

Stress the first syllable: SPEC-ious. “spec” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “specious” and see every sound

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