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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “tentatively”

“tentatively” is pronounced /ˈtɛntətɪvli/ (TEN-tuh-tiv-lee) in American English and /tɛntətɪvli/ in British English, and /ˈtɛntəvli/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “tɛn”.
The sound

Say “tentatively” in 4 beats

Say it like this

tentatively

/ˈtɛntətɪvli/

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

4 beats
  1. tɛntɛnstress
  2. tətə
  3. tɪvtɪv
  4. lili
IPA (American)
/ˈtɛntətɪvli/
IPA (British)
/tɛntətɪvli/
Also accepted
/ˈtɛntəvli/
Respelling
TEN-tuh-tiv-lee
Syllables
4 — TƐN-tə-tɪv-li
Stress
Stress the first syllable: TƐN-tə-tɪv-li. “tɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adverb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈtɛntətɪvli/

British

/tɛntətɪvli/

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

Meaning

What “tentatively” means

  1. adverb

    in a tentative manner

    “we agreed tentatively on a dinner date”

Say it in a sentence

“She tentatively suggested moving the meeting to Thursday.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
tt×3ɛshort ennəschwaɪshort ivvllilong e

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

Questions

“tentatively”, answered

How do you pronounce “tentatively”?

“tentatively” is pronounced /ˈtɛntətɪvli/ (TEN-tuh-tiv-lee) in American English and /tɛntətɪvli/ in British English, and /ˈtɛntəvli/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “tɛn”. Build it as TƐN-tə-tɪv-li, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “tentatively” have?

4: tɛn · tə · tɪv · li. The beat lands on the first, “tɛn”.

Is “tentatively” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈtɛntətɪvli/ (TEN-tuh-tiv-lee); British English says /tɛntətɪvli/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “tentatively” mean?

As an adverb: in a tentative manner For example: “we agreed tentatively on a dinner date”

Where is the stress in “tentatively”?

Stress the first syllable: TƐN-tə-tɪv-li. “tɛn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “tentatively” and see every sound

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