English pronunciation · Words Starting with A

Assess Pronunciation

Assess is pronounced uh-SES, IPA /əˈsɛs/.

uh-SES

US /əˈsɛs/  ·  UK /əˈsɛs/

Syllables: uh · SES (2 syllables, stress on syllable 2)

verb: To examine something carefully in order to form a judgement about it.

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Assess in a Sentence

  • The surveyor came to assess the damp.
  • We assess every applicant against the same five criteria.
  • It is too early to assess whether the change worked.

Common Mispronunciations of Assess

Not A-ses

SES is the loud beat and the opening is a swallowed uh. A heavy front produces the unrelated access, which many speakers do use by mistake.

Not uh-SEZ

Both s sounds hiss and neither buzzes, so the word ends the way less and dress do. A z at the end gives the plural of a different noun.

Tip: Assess and access differ in sense as well as in sound: you assess a risk and you access a file.

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