How to pronounce “worse”
Say “worse” in one beat
worse
/wɝs/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /wɜːs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- worsewɝs
- IPA (American)
- /wɝs/
- IPA (British)
- /wɜːs/
- Respelling
- WURS
- Syllables
- 1 — worse
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /wɝs/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective, adverb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/wɝs/
/wɜːs/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “worse” means
- noun
something inferior in quality or condition or effect
“for better or for worse”
- adjective
(comparative of `bad') inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
“this road is worse than the first one we took”
- adjective
changed for the worse in health or fitness
“I feel worse today”
Say it in a sentence
“The traffic got worse once the rain started falling.”“worse”, answered
How do you pronounce “worse”?
“worse” is pronounced /wɝs/ (WURS) in American English and /wɜːs/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /wɝs/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “worse” have?
One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /wɝs/ — a single beat.
Is “worse” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /wɝs/ (WURS); British English says /wɜːs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “worse” mean?
As a noun: something inferior in quality or condition or effect For example: “for better or for worse” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “worse”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /wɝs/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “worse” 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.