Pronunciation

How to pronounce “spurious

“spurious” is pronounced /ˈspjʊɹiəs/ (SPYUU-ree-uhs) in American English and /spjʊəɹiəs/ in British English, and /ˈspɝiəs/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “spjʊ”.
The sound

Say “spurious” in 3 beats

Say it like this

spurious

/ˈspjʊɹiəs/

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

3 beats
  1. spjʊspjʊstress
  2. ɹiɹi
  3. əsəs
IPA (American)
/ˈspjʊɹiəs/
IPA (British)
/spjʊəɹiəs/
Also accepted
/ˈspɝiəs/
Respelling
SPYUU-ree-uhs
Syllables
3 — SPJƱ-ɹi-əs
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SPJƱ-ɹi-əs. “spjʊ” 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

/ˈspjʊɹiəs/

British

/spjʊəɹiəs/

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

Meaning

What “spurious” means

  1. adjective

    plausible but false

    a specious claim

  2. adjective

    born out of wedlock; - E.A.Freeman

    the dominions of both rulers passed away to their spurious or doubtful offspring

  3. adjective

    intended to deceive

    a spurious work of art

Say it in a sentence

The letter turned out to be a spurious copy.
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

spurious”, answered

How do you pronounce “spurious”?

“spurious” is pronounced /ˈspjʊɹiəs/ (SPYUU-ree-uhs) in American English and /spjʊəɹiəs/ in British English, and /ˈspɝiəs/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “spjʊ”. Build it as SPJƱ-ɹi-əs, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “spurious” have?

3: spjʊ · ɹi · əs. The beat lands on the first, “spjʊ”.

Is “spurious” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈspjʊɹiəs/ (SPYUU-ree-uhs); British English says /spjʊəɹiəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “spurious” mean?

As an adjective: plausible but false For example: “a specious claim” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “spurious”?

Stress the first syllable: SPJƱ-ɹi-əs. “spjʊ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “spurious” 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.