Pronunciation

How to pronounce “straightforward

“straightforward” is pronounced /ˈstɹeɪtˈfɔɹwɚd/ (STRAYT-fawr-wuhd) in American English and /stɹeɪtfɔːwəd/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “straigh”.
The sound

Say “straightforward” in 3 beats

Say it like this

straightforward

/ˈstɹeɪtˈfɔɹwɚd/

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

3 beats
  1. straighstɹeɪtstress
  2. tforfɔɹ
  3. wardwɚd
IPA (American)
/ˈstɹeɪtˈfɔɹwɚd/
IPA (British)
/stɹeɪtfɔːwəd/
Respelling
STRAYT-fawr-wuhd
Syllables
3 — STRAIGH-tfor-ward
Stress
Stress the first syllable: STRAIGH-tfor-ward. “straigh” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈstɹeɪtˈfɔɹwɚd/

British

/stɹeɪtfɔːwəd/

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

Meaning

What “straightforward” means

  1. adjective

    free from ambiguity

    a straightforward set of instructions

  2. adjective

    without evasion or compromise

    a square contradiction

  3. adjective

    without concealment or deception; honest

    their business was open and aboveboard

Say it in a sentence

The instructions are straightforward once you find page four.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 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

straightforward”, answered

How do you pronounce “straightforward”?

“straightforward” is pronounced /ˈstɹeɪtˈfɔɹwɚd/ (STRAYT-fawr-wuhd) in American English and /stɹeɪtfɔːwəd/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “straigh”. Build it as STRAIGH-tfor-ward, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “straightforward” have?

3: straigh · tfor · ward. The beat lands on the first, “straigh”.

Is “straightforward” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈstɹeɪtˈfɔɹwɚd/ (STRAYT-fawr-wuhd); British English says /stɹeɪtfɔːwəd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “straightforward” mean?

As an adjective: free from ambiguity For example: “a straightforward set of instructions” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “straightforward”?

Stress the first syllable: STRAIGH-tfor-ward. “straigh” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “straightforward” 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.