English pronunciation · Words Starting with R
Refugee Pronunciation
Refugee is pronounced RE-fyoo-jee, IPA /ˈrɛfjudʒi/.
RE-fyoo-jee
US /ˈrɛfjudʒi/ · UK /ˈrɛfjuːˌdʒiː/
Syllables: RE · fyoo · jee (3 syllables, stress on syllable 1)
noun: Someone who has fled their own country to escape war or persecution.
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Refugee in a Sentence
- Her grandfather came here as a refugee in 1939.
- The camp holds eleven thousand refugees.
- Refugee status has to be applied for.
Common Mispronunciations of Refugee
Not ruh-FYOO-jee
Refuge and refugee both open on a short e, so neither one begins with the ruh of refuse.
Not RE-foo-jee
A y glide sits in that middle beat, fyoo, exactly as it does in the noun refuge.
Tip: Most dictionaries put the loud beat right at the end, re-fyoo-JEE, and that is the usual reading.
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