English pronunciation · Words Starting with C
Cretaceous Pronunciation
Cretaceous is pronounced kri-TAY-shis, IPA /krɪˈteɪʃɪs/.
kri-TAY-shis
US /krɪˈteɪʃɪs/ · UK /krɛˈteɪʃəs/
Syllables: kri · TAY · shis (3 syllables, stress on syllable 2)
adjective: Belonging to the geological period that ended with the extinction of the dinosaurs, or chalky in nature.
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Cretaceous in a Sentence
- The cliffs here are cretaceous chalk.
- Flowering plants first spread in cretaceous times.
- A cretaceous seabed lies under the whole county.
Common Mispronunciations of Cretaceous
Not kree-TAY-see-uhs
The ceous ending is one beat, said shis, so the word has three beats and not four.
Not KRE-tuh-shuhs
Give TAY the force and the long ay of day with it. An opening thump flattens the vowel to the e of bed.
Tip: Written with a capital C it names the period, roughly 145 to 66 million years ago. The root is creta, Latin for chalk.
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