Pronunciation

How to pronounce “voracious

“voracious” is pronounced /vɔˈɹeɪʃəs/ (vaw-RAY-shuhs) in American English and /vɔːɹeɪʃəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ac”.
The sound

Say “voracious” in 3 beats

Say it like this

voracious

/vɔˈɹeɪʃəs/

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

3 beats
  1. vor
  2. acɹeɪstress
  3. iousʃəs
IPA (American)
/vɔˈɹeɪʃəs/
IPA (British)
/vɔːɹeɪʃəs/
Respelling
vaw-RAY-shuhs
Syllables
3 — vor-AC-ious
Stress
Stress the second syllable: vor-AC-ious. “ac” 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

/vɔˈɹeɪʃəs/

British

/vɔːɹeɪʃəs/

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

Meaning

What “voracious” means

  1. adjective

    excessively greedy and grasping

    a rapacious divorcee on the prowl

  2. adjective

    devouring or craving food in great quantities

    edacious vultures

Say it in a sentence

He is a voracious reader of other people's newspapers.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

voracious”, answered

How do you pronounce “voracious”?

“voracious” is pronounced /vɔˈɹeɪʃəs/ (vaw-RAY-shuhs) in American English and /vɔːɹeɪʃəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ac”. Build it as vor-AC-ious, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “voracious” have?

3: vor · ac · ious. The beat lands on the second, “ac”.

Is “voracious” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /vɔˈɹeɪʃəs/ (vaw-RAY-shuhs); British English says /vɔːɹeɪʃəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “voracious” mean?

As an adjective: excessively greedy and grasping For example: “a rapacious divorcee on the prowl” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “voracious”?

Stress the second syllable: vor-AC-ious. “ac” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “voracious” 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.