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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “virulent”

“virulent” is pronounced /ˈvɪɹələnt/ (VI-ruh-luhnt) in American English and /vɪɹələnt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “vir”.
The sound

Say “virulent” in 3 beats

Say it like this

virulent

/ˈvɪɹələnt/

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

3 beats
  1. virvɪstress
  2. ulɹə
  3. entlənt
IPA (American)
/ˈvɪɹələnt/
IPA (British)
/vɪɹələnt/
Respelling
VI-ruh-luhnt
Syllables
3 — VIR-ul-ent
Stress
Stress the first syllable: VIR-ul-ent. “vir” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈvɪɹələnt/

British

/vɪɹələnt/

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

Meaning

What “virulent” means

  1. adjective

    extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom

    “venomous snakes”

  2. adjective

    infectious; having the ability to cause disease

  3. adjective

    harsh or corrosive in tone

    “an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose”

Say it in a sentence

“A virulent strain wiped out most of the young plants.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
vvɪshort iɹrəschwa×2llnntt

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

Questions

“virulent”, answered

How do you pronounce “virulent”?

“virulent” is pronounced /ˈvɪɹələnt/ (VI-ruh-luhnt) in American English and /vɪɹələnt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “vir”. Build it as VIR-ul-ent, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “virulent” have?

3: vir · ul · ent. The beat lands on the first, “vir”.

Is “virulent” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈvɪɹələnt/ (VI-ruh-luhnt); British English says /vɪɹələnt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “virulent” mean?

As an adjective: extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom For example: “venomous snakes” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “virulent”?

Stress the first syllable: VIR-ul-ent. “vir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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