How to pronounce “speculate”
Say “speculate” in 3 beats
speculate
/ˈspɛkjəˌleɪt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /spɛkjʊleɪt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- spɛspɛstress
- kjəkjə
- leɪtleɪt
- IPA (American)
- /ˈspɛkjəˌleɪt/
- IPA (British)
- /spɛkjʊleɪt/
- Respelling
- SPE-kyuh-layt
- Syllables
- 3 — SPƐ-kjə-leɪt
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: SPƐ-kjə-leɪt. “spɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˈspɛkjəˌleɪt/
/spɛkjʊleɪt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “speculate” means
- verb
to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
“Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps”
- verb
talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion
“We were speculating whether the President had to resign after the scandal”
- verb
reflect deeply on a subject
“I mulled over the events of the afternoon”
Say it in a sentence
“We can only speculate about why the shop closed.”“speculate”, answered
How do you pronounce “speculate”?
“speculate” is pronounced /ˈspɛkjəˌleɪt/ (SPE-kyuh-layt) in American English and /spɛkjʊleɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “spɛ”. Build it as SPƐ-kjə-leɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “speculate” have?
3: spɛ · kjə · leɪt. The beat lands on the first, “spɛ”.
Is “speculate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈspɛkjəˌleɪt/ (SPE-kyuh-layt); British English says /spɛkjʊleɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “speculate” mean?
As a verb: to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds For example: “Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “speculate”?
Stress the first syllable: SPƐ-kjə-leɪt. “spɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “speculate” 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.