English pronunciation · Words Starting with S

Several Pronunciation

Several is pronounced SEV-ruhl, IPA /ˈsɛvɝəl/.

SEV-ruhl

US /ˈsɛvɝəl/  ·  UK /ˈsɛvrəl/

Syllables: SEV · ruhl (2 syllables, stress on syllable 1)

determiner and pronoun: More than two but not many.

Audio for the American and British pronunciations plays on this page with JavaScript enabled.

Several in a Sentence

  • Several people asked the same question.
  • We waited several hours for the ferry.
  • Several of the windows need replacing.

Common Mispronunciations of Several

Not se-VE-ruhl

Lean on SEV and leave everything after it flat. Nothing in the middle is loud.

Not SEE-ver-uhl

Keep the first vowel short, as in seven. A long ee drifts towards severe, which means something quite different.

Tip: Most speakers squeeze it to two syllables in running speech, SEV-ruhl. The careful three-beat version is also fine.

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