English pronunciation · Words Starting with A
Adequate Pronunciation
Adequate is pronounced A-duh-kwuht, IPA /ˈædəˌkweɪt/.
A-duh-kwuht
US /ˈædəˌkweɪt/ · UK /ˈædɪkwət/
Syllables: A · duh · kwuht (3 syllables, stress on syllable 1)
adjective: Enough in amount or good enough in quality for the purpose at hand.
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Adequate in a Sentence
- The lighting in the stairwell is barely adequate.
- We had adequate warning, so nobody was caught out.
- Her explanation seemed adequate at the time.
Common Mispronunciations of Adequate
Not uh-DE-kwuht
The first syllable is the loud one and keeps the flat a of cat. Moving the beat to the middle is the commonest error.
Not A-juh-kwuht
The d stays a clean d before the weak vowel. It does not soften to a j the way it does in schedule for some speakers.
Tip: The ending is heard both as a weak kwuht and as a fuller kwayt, and dictionaries list both. The stress stays on A either way.
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