English pronunciation · Words Starting with D

Democracy Pronunciation

Democracy is pronounced di-MAH-kruh-see, IPA /dɪˈmɑkrəsi/.

di-MAH-kruh-see

US /dɪˈmɑkrəsi/  ·  UK /dɪˈmɒkrəsi/

Syllables: di · MAH · kruh · see (4 syllables, stress on syllable 2)

noun: A system of government in which the people choose their leaders by voting.

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Democracy in a Sentence

  • The country returned to democracy after twelve years of military rule.
  • Democracy depends on people actually turning up to vote.
  • She teaches a course on the history of democracy in Europe.

Common Mispronunciations of Democracy

Not DE-muh-kra-see

Move the weight to the second syllable. Democratic puts its beat near the end, but democracy pulls it back onto the MAH, and the opening syllable shrinks to a quick di.

Not di-MOH-kruh-see

Keep the o short. It is the o of hot in American English and of dock in British English, never the long oh of hope.

Tip: Four syllables with the beat on the second: di-MAH-kruh-see. Democrat and democratic shift the beat elsewhere, so learn them separately.

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