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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “willingness”

“willingness” is pronounced /ˈwɪlɪŋnəs/ (WI-ling-nuhs) in American English and /wɪlɪŋnəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “wil”.
The sound

Say “willingness” in 3 beats

Say it like this

willingness

/ˈwɪlɪŋnəs/

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

3 beats
  1. wilwɪstress
  2. linglɪŋ
  3. nessnəs
IPA (American)
/ˈwɪlɪŋnəs/
IPA (British)
/wɪlɪŋnəs/
Respelling
WI-ling-nuhs
Syllables
3 — WIL-ling-ness
Stress
Stress the first syllable: WIL-ling-ness. “wil” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈwɪlɪŋnəs/

British

/wɪlɪŋnəs/

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

Meaning

What “willingness” means

  1. noun

    cheerful compliance

    “he expressed his willingness to help”

Say it in a sentence

“His willingness to learn mattered more than his experience.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
wwɪshort i×2llŋngnnəschwass

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

Questions

“willingness”, answered

How do you pronounce “willingness”?

“willingness” is pronounced /ˈwɪlɪŋnəs/ (WI-ling-nuhs) in American English and /wɪlɪŋnəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “wil”. Build it as WIL-ling-ness, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “willingness” have?

3: wil · ling · ness. The beat lands on the first, “wil”.

Is “willingness” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈwɪlɪŋnəs/ (WI-ling-nuhs); British English says /wɪlɪŋnəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “willingness” mean?

As a noun: cheerful compliance For example: “he expressed his willingness to help”

Where is the stress in “willingness”?

Stress the first syllable: WIL-ling-ness. “wil” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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