Pronunciation

How to pronounce “unprecedented

“unprecedented” is pronounced /ənˈpɹɛsɪˌdɛntɪd/ (uhn-PRE-si-den-tid) in American English and /ʌnpɹɛsɪdəntɪd/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “rec”.
The sound

Say “unprecedented” in 5 beats

Say it like this

unprecedented

/ənˈpɹɛsɪˌdɛntɪd/

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

5 beats
  1. unpən
  2. recpɹɛstress
  3. ed
  4. endɛn
  5. tedtɪd
IPA (American)
/ənˈpɹɛsɪˌdɛntɪd/
IPA (British)
/ʌnpɹɛsɪdəntɪd/
Respelling
uhn-PRE-si-den-tid
Syllables
5 — unp-REC-ed-en-ted
Stress
Stress the second syllable: unp-REC-ed-en-ted. “rec” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ənˈpɹɛsɪˌdɛntɪd/

British

/ʌnpɹɛsɪdəntɪd/

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

Meaning

What “unprecedented” means

  1. adjective

    having no precedent; novel

    an unprecedented expansion in population and industry

Say it in a sentence

The queue outside the bakery was unprecedented for a Tuesday.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

unprecedented”, answered

How do you pronounce “unprecedented”?

“unprecedented” is pronounced /ənˈpɹɛsɪˌdɛntɪd/ (uhn-PRE-si-den-tid) in American English and /ʌnpɹɛsɪdəntɪd/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “rec”. Build it as unp-REC-ed-en-ted, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “unprecedented” have?

5: unp · rec · ed · en · ted. The beat lands on the second, “rec”.

Is “unprecedented” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ənˈpɹɛsɪˌdɛntɪd/ (uhn-PRE-si-den-tid); British English says /ʌnpɹɛsɪdəntɪd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “unprecedented” mean?

As an adjective: having no precedent; novel For example: “an unprecedented expansion in population and industry”

Where is the stress in “unprecedented”?

Stress the second syllable: unp-REC-ed-en-ted. “rec” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “unprecedented” 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.