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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “subtlety”

“subtlety” is pronounced /ˈsʌtəlti/ (SU-tuhl-tee) in American English and /sʌtəlti/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “subt”.
The sound

Say “subtlety” in 3 beats

Say it like this

subtlety

/ˈsʌtəlti/

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

3 beats
  1. subtsʌstress
  2. lettəl
  3. yti
IPA (American)
/ˈsʌtəlti/
IPA (British)
/sʌtəlti/
Respelling
SU-tuhl-tee
Syllables
3 — SUBT-let-y
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SUBT-let-y. “subt” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈsʌtəlti/

British

/sʌtəlti/

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

Meaning

What “subtlety” means

  1. noun

    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude

    “without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor”

  2. noun

    the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze

    “you had to admire the subtlety of the distinctions he drew”

Say it in a sentence

“There is a subtlety in her reply that I missed.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ssʌshort utt×2əschwallilong e

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

Questions

“subtlety”, answered

How do you pronounce “subtlety”?

“subtlety” is pronounced /ˈsʌtəlti/ (SU-tuhl-tee) in American English and /sʌtəlti/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “subt”. Build it as SUBT-let-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “subtlety” have?

3: subt · let · y. The beat lands on the first, “subt”.

Is “subtlety” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈsʌtəlti/ (SU-tuhl-tee); British English says /sʌtəlti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “subtlety” mean?

As a noun: a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude For example: “without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “subtlety”?

Stress the first syllable: SUBT-let-y. “subt” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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