Pronunciation · Academic and IELTS words

How to pronounce “deteriorate”

di-TEER-ee-uh-rate

5 syllables · stress on “TEER”

diTEEReeuhrate

Britishdɪˈtɪəriəreɪt

Americandɪˈtɪriəreɪt

In short

“deteriorate” is pronounced di-TEER-ee-uh-rate: 5 syllables, with the stress on “TEER”. Five syllables with two r sounds close together and three weak vowels. The word is common in IELTS Writing Task 1 and Speaking Part 3, where it is often attempted and rarely landed. The version to avoid is de-te-ri-o-RATE — five equal syllables with end stress, or dropping a syllable entirely.

Say “deteriorate” in 3 steps

1Stress syllable two: di-TEER-ee-uh-rate.
2After the stress, three light syllables follow quickly: ee-uh-rate.
3Say it slowly five times before using it at speed.

The version to avoid

Commonly said as: de-te-ri-o-RATE — five equal syllables with end stress, or dropping a syllable entirely

Five syllables with two r sounds close together and three weak vowels. The word is common in IELTS Writing Task 1 and Speaking Part 3, where it is often attempted and rarely landed.

Hear real people say it

Model audio is consistent; real speech is not. Hearing several actual speakers is what makes a word recognisable when someone says it at full speed.

Real speakers

No free human recording of “deteriorate” exists yet in the public archives we draw on, so the audio above is our model voice. It is accurate for this word — a human clip would simply add natural variation on top.

Practise it out loud

Reading about a sound does not change your mouth. Say it, hear it back, and fix one thing at a time.

Say it yourself

0/6 practised

Listen first, then record. You get feedback on the individual sounds, the stress and the rhythm — no account needed, and nothing is stored.

Three speakers per accent

Recordings are used only to generate this feedback and are not stored. Your accent is never penalised: IELTS scores intelligibility, and so do we.

The sounds inside this word

Each links to a full guide with mouth position, audio and drills. If a word keeps failing, the problem is usually one of these.

dd as in day ɪi as in sit tt as in tea ɪəear as in here iːee as in see əa as in about (schwa)rr as in red eɪay as in day

More academic and ielts words

Same pattern, same fix. Learning them as a group is far faster than one at a time.

entrepreneuron-truh-pruh-NUR questionnairekwes-chuh-NAIR environmentin-VY-run-munt phenomenonfuh-NOM-ih-nun hierarchyHY-uh-rar-kee genreZHON-ruh

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce deteriorate?

deteriorate is pronounced di-TEER-ee-uh-rate, written /dɪˈtɪəriəreɪt/ in IPA. Stress syllable two: di-TEER-ee-uh-rate.

How many syllables are in deteriorate?

five: di-TEER-ee-uh-rate. The stress falls on “TEER”.

What is the most common mistake with deteriorate?

de-te-ri-o-RATE — five equal syllables with end stress, or dropping a syllable entirely. Five syllables with two r sounds close together and three weak vowels. The word is common in IELTS Writing Task 1 and Speaking Part 3, where it is often attempted and rarely landed.

The full sound library

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