How to pronounce “sycophant”
Say “sycophant” in 3 beats
sycophant
/ˈsɪkəfənt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈsɪkəfant/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- sycsɪstress
- opkə
- hantfənt
- IPA (American)
- /ˈsɪkəfənt/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈsɪkəfant/
- Respelling
- SIK-uh-fuhnt
- Syllables
- 3 — SYC-op-hant
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: SYC-op-hant. “syc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Legend — spelling and sound part company here
American and British are not the same here
/ˈsɪkəfənt/
/ˈsɪkəfant/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “sycophant” goes wrong
- Often heard
“SY-koh-fant”
the first vowel is the short i of sick: SIK-uh-fuhnt
What “sycophant” means
- noun
a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage
Say it in a sentence
“He surrounded himself with every sycophant in the industry.”“sycophant”, answered
How do you pronounce “sycophant”?
“sycophant” is pronounced /ˈsɪkəfənt/ (SIK-uh-fuhnt) in American English and /ˈsɪkəfant/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “syc”. Build it as SYC-op-hant, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “sycophant” have?
3: syc · op · hant. The beat lands on the first, “syc”.
Is “sycophant” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈsɪkəfənt/ (SIK-uh-fuhnt); British English says /ˈsɪkəfant/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “sycophant” mean?
As a noun: a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage For example: “He surrounded himself with every sycophant in the industry.”
Where is the stress in “sycophant”?
Stress the first syllable: SYC-op-hant. “syc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “sycophant” 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.