English pronunciation · Words Starting with E
Extraordinary Pronunciation
Extraordinary is pronounced ek-struh-AWR-duh-ne-ree, IPA /ˌɛkstrəˈɔrdəˌnɛri/.
ek-struh-AWR-duh-ne-ree
US /ˌɛkstrəˈɔrdəˌnɛri/ · UK /ɛkˈstrɔːdɪnəri/
Syllables: ek · struh · AWR · duh · ne · ree (6 syllables, stress on syllable 3)
adjective: Far beyond what is usual or expected.
Audio for the American and British pronunciations plays on this page with JavaScript enabled.
Two Ways to Say Extraordinary
The pronunciation changes with the meaning or the part of speech. The form above is the most common; the others are:
- ik-STRAWR-duh-ne-ree, the commoner five-beat form: /ɪkˈstrɔrdəˌnɛri/ (ik-STRAWR-duh-ne-ree)
Extraordinary in a Sentence
- She has an extraordinary memory for faces.
- The council held an extraordinary meeting on Friday.
- It took an extraordinary amount of paperwork.
Common Mispronunciations of Extraordinary
Not EKS-truh-OR-di-NA-ree
Just one beat takes any volume. The rest run past quickly, which is how most speakers end up with five beats rather than six.
Not ek-struh-awr-di-NA-ree
The peak sits in the middle, on AWR, and the tail fades to duh-ne-ree.
Tip: Many speakers fold the extra into the next beat and say ik-STRAWR-duh-ne-ree, which the dictionaries list as well.
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