How to pronounce “vicarious”
Say “vicarious” in 4 beats
vicarious
/vaɪˈkɛɹiəs/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /vɪkeəɹiəs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- vaɪvaɪ
- kɛkɛstress
- ɹiɹi
- əsəs
- IPA (American)
- /vaɪˈkɛɹiəs/
- IPA (British)
- /vɪkeəɹiəs/
- Respelling
- vy-KE-ree-uhs
- Syllables
- 4 — vaɪ-KƐ-ɹi-əs
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: vaɪ-KƐ-ɹi-əs. “kɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Legend — spelling and sound part company here
American and British are not the same here
/vaɪˈkɛɹiəs/
/vɪkeəɹiəs/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “vicarious” means
- adjective
experienced at secondhand
“read about mountain climbing and felt vicarious excitement”
- adjective
occurring in an abnormal part of the body instead of the usual site involved in that function
“vicarious menstruation”
- adjective
suffered or done by one person as a substitute for another
“vicarious atonement”
Say it in a sentence
“She gets a vicarious thrill from her brother's sailing.”“vicarious”, answered
How do you pronounce “vicarious”?
“vicarious” is pronounced /vaɪˈkɛɹiəs/ (vy-KE-ree-uhs) in American English and /vɪkeəɹiəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “kɛ”. Build it as vaɪ-KƐ-ɹi-əs, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “vicarious” have?
4: vaɪ · kɛ · ɹi · əs. The beat lands on the second, “kɛ”.
Is “vicarious” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /vaɪˈkɛɹiəs/ (vy-KE-ree-uhs); British English says /vɪkeəɹiəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “vicarious” mean?
As an adjective: experienced at secondhand For example: “read about mountain climbing and felt vicarious excitement” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “vicarious”?
Stress the second syllable: vaɪ-KƐ-ɹi-əs. “kɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “vicarious” 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.