How to pronounce “tendency”
Say “tendency” in 3 beats
tendency
/ˈtɛndənsi/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /tɛndənsi/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- tentɛnstress
- dendən
- cysi
- IPA (American)
- /ˈtɛndənsi/
- IPA (British)
- /tɛndənsi/
- Respelling
- TEN-duhn-see
- Syllables
- 3 — TEN-den-cy
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: TEN-den-cy. “ten” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ˈtɛndənsi/
/tɛndənsi/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “tendency” means
- noun
an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others
“he had an inclination to give up too easily”
- noun
an inclination to do something
“he felt leanings toward frivolity”
- noun
a characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward a certain condition or character or effect
“the alkaline inclination of the local waters”
Say it in a sentence
“She has a tendency to speak too fast when she is nervous.”“tendency”, answered
How do you pronounce “tendency”?
“tendency” is pronounced /ˈtɛndənsi/ (TEN-duhn-see) in American English and /tɛndənsi/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ten”. Build it as TEN-den-cy, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “tendency” have?
3: ten · den · cy. The beat lands on the first, “ten”.
Is “tendency” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈtɛndənsi/ (TEN-duhn-see); British English says /tɛndənsi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “tendency” mean?
As a noun: an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others For example: “he had an inclination to give up too easily” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “tendency”?
Stress the first syllable: TEN-den-cy. “ten” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “tendency” 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.