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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “sustainability”

“sustainability” is pronounced /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/ (suh-stay-nuh-BI-li-tee) in American English and /səsteɪnəbɪlɪti/ in British English — 6 syllables, stressed on “il”.
The sound

Say “sustainability” in 6 beats

Say it like this

sustainability

/səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/

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

6 beats
  1. sussə
  2. tainsteɪ
  3. abnə
  4. ilbɪstress
  5. itlɪ
  6. yti
IPA (American)
/səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/
IPA (British)
/səsteɪnəbɪlɪti/
Respelling
suh-stay-nuh-BI-li-tee
Syllables
6 — sus-tain-ab-IL-it-y
Stress
Stress the fourth syllable: sus-tain-ab-IL-it-y. “il” 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

/səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/

British

/səsteɪnəbɪlɪti/

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

Meaning

What “sustainability” means

  1. noun

    the property of being sustainable

Say it in a sentence

“Sustainability is now written into every purchasing decision.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

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

Questions

“sustainability”, answered

How do you pronounce “sustainability”?

“sustainability” is pronounced /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/ (suh-stay-nuh-BI-li-tee) in American English and /səsteɪnəbɪlɪti/ in British English — 6 syllables, stressed on “il”. Build it as sus-tain-ab-IL-it-y, then run the fourth syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “sustainability” have?

6: sus · tain · ab · il · it · y. The beat lands on the fourth, “il”.

Is “sustainability” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/ (suh-stay-nuh-BI-li-tee); British English says /səsteɪnəbɪlɪti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “sustainability” mean?

As a noun: the property of being sustainable For example: “Sustainability is now written into every purchasing decision.”

Where is the stress in “sustainability”?

Stress the fourth syllable: sus-tain-ab-IL-it-y. “il” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “sustainability” and see every sound

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