accent noun [ C ] PRONUNCIATION

1. the way in which people in a particular area, country or social group pronounce words
He's got a strong French/Scottish accent.
She's French but she speaks with an impeccable English accent.
He speaks with a broad/heavy/strong/thick Yorkshire accent.
I thought I could detect a slight West Country accent.
accent noun [ C ] EMPHASIS
3. SPECIALIZED a special emphasis given to a particular syllable in a word, word in a sentence, or note in a set of musical notes
The accent falls on the final syllable.
accented adjective
He spoke in heavily accented English.
accentuation noun [ U ]
acid adjective UNKIND
2. describes a remark or way of speaking that is cruel or criticizes something in an unkind way
her acid wit
When she spoke her tone was acid.
articulate verb [ T ] FORMAL
2. to pronounce
When children first learn to talk, there are some sounds that they find difficult to articulate.
articulation noun [ U ] SAYING
1. the way in which you pronounce words or produce sounds
A good singer needs to have good articulation (= a clear way of pronouncing words) .
asperity noun [ U ] FORMAL
the quality of being severe in the way that you speak and behave
the asperity of her manner
BBC English noun [ U ]
the standard way in which middle-class speakers of southern British English pronounce words
breathe verb WORDS
2. [ I + speech ] LITERARY to say something very quietly
"Here they come, " he breathed.
broad adjective STRONG
4. If someone has a broad accent (= way of speaking) , it is strong and noticeable, showing where they come from
He spoke with a broad Australian accent.
brogue noun WAY OF SPEAKING
1. [ C usually singular ] an Irish or sometimes Scottish way of speaking English
She spoke in her soft lilting brogue.
burr noun SOUND
1. [ C usually singular ] a way of speaking English in which the 'r' sound is longer and more noticeable than usual
He spoke in a soft West Country burr.
cadence noun [ C ] VOICE
1. the regular rise and fall of the voice
delivery noun GIVING
2. [ S ] the way in which someone speaks in public
the actor's delivery
dialect noun [ C or U ]
a form of a language that people speak in a particular part of a country, containing some different words and grammar, etc.
a regional dialect
The poem is written in northern dialect.
diction noun [ U ]
the manner in which words are pronounced
It is very helpful for a language teacher to have good diction.
drawl noun [ S ]
a slow way of speaking in which the vowel sounds are made longer and words are not separated clearly
a southern/Texan/mid-Atlantic drawl
drawl verb [ I or T ]
[ + speech ] "Hey, what's the rush? Slow down baby, " he drawled.
elocution noun [ U ]
the art of careful public speaking, using clear pronunciation and good breathing to control the voice
classes in elocution
enunciate verb FORMAL PRONOUNCE
1. [ I or T ] to pronounce words or parts of words clearly
He doesn't enunciate (his words) very clearly.
enunciation noun [ C or U ]
fluent adjective
2. When a language is fluent, it is spoken easily and without many pauses
He speaks fluent Chinese.
glottal stop noun [ C ] SPECIALIZED
a speech sound produced by closing the vocal cords and then opening them quickly so that the air from the lungs is released with force
idiolect noun [ C or U ]
the form of a language that a particular person speaks
idiomatic adjective
2. containing expressions that are natural and grammatically correct
She was born in Italy but her English is fluent and idiomatic.
idiomatically adverb
inflection , UK ALSO inflexion noun SPEECH
2. [ C or U ] the way in which the sound of your voice changes during speech, for example when you emphasize particular words
His voice was low and flat, with almost no inflection.
intonation noun

1. [ C or U ] the sound changes produced by the rise and fall of the voice when speaking, especially when this has an effect on the
meaning of what is said
The end of a sentence that is not a question is usually marked by falling intonation.
intone verb [ T ] FORMAL
to say something slowly and seriously in a voice which does not rise or fall much
[ + speech ] "Let us pray, " the priest intoned to his congregation.
jawbreaker noun [ C ] LANGUAGE
3. US AND AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH INFORMAL a word that is difficult to pronounce
lilt noun [ S ]
a gentle and pleasant rising and falling sound in a person's voice
He's got that lovely Irish lilt in his voice.
mildly adverb
2. in a gentle way
"I think you've made a mistake," he said mildly.
mispronounce verb [ T ]
to pronounce a word or sound wrongly
French learners of English often mispronounce "ch" as "sh".
mispronunciation noun [ C or U ]
Mispronunciation can be a serious obstacle to making yourself understood in a foreign language.
modulation noun [ C or U ]
SPECIALIZED frequency/amplitude modulation
monotone noun [ U ]
a sound which stays on the same note without going higher or lower
DISAPPROVING He spoke in a boring monotone.
mouthful noun WORD
2. [ S ] INFORMAL a word or phrase that is difficult to pronounce or that has a lot of syllables
I've always called myself 'Henny' because it's less of a mouthful than 'Henrietta'.
plummy adjective SPEECH
1. describes a low voice or way of speaking using long vowels, of a type thought to be typical of the British upper social class
a plummy voice
a plummy Home Counties accent
pronounce verb [ T ] MAKE SOUND
1. to say a word or a letter in a particular way
How do you pronounce your surname?
She pronounced his name so badly he didn't even recognise it.
Sade, pronounced shah-day, is a singer.
pronunciation noun [ C or U ]
how words are pronounced
English pronunciation is notoriously difficult.
There are two different pronunciations of this word.

Re ceived Pronunci ation noun [ U ] ( ABBREVIATION RP ) UK

SPECIALIZED

the standard way in which middle-class speakers of southern British English pronounce words
roll verb SOUND
11. [ T ] If you roll your r's, you pronounce them with your tongue moving quickly and repeatedly against the top of the mouth
The Italians roll their r's.
RP noun [ U ]
ABBREVIATION FOR Received Pronunciation
singsong noun MUSICAL VOICE
1. [ S ] a voice rising and falling in level
She spoke in a singsong.
singsong adjective [ before noun ]
a singsong voice
slur verb [ T ] -rr- PRONOUNCE BADLY
1. to pronounce the sounds of a word in a way which is not clear, uncontrolled or wrong
Her speech was slurred but she still denied she was drunk.
slur noun BAD PRONUNCIATION
2. [ S ] when you pronounce the sounds of a word in a way which is not clear, uncontrolled or wrong
The drug affected her vision and made her speak with a slur.
soft-spoken adjective
having a quiet pleasant voice
sotto voce adverb , adjective FORMAL
(said) in a quiet voice so that only people near can hear
The remark was uttered sotto voce.
speech noun SAY WORDS
2. [ U ] the way a person talks
His speech was slurred and I thought he was drunk.

speech therapist noun [ C ]

A speech therapist helped him overcome his stammer.

-spoken suffix

speaking in a particular way

a softly-spoken young man
a well-spoken lady
stentorian adjective FORMAL
using a very loud voice, or (of a voice) very loud
a stentorian preacher
Suddenly a stentorian voice boomed across the room.
stress noun PRONUNCIATION

2. [ C or U ] when a word or syllable is pronounced with greater force than other words in the same sentence or other syllables in the
same word, or a musical note is played with greater force than others in a group
The meaning of a sentence often depends on stress and intonation.
When 'insert' is a verb, the stress is on the second syllable, but when it is a noun, the stress is on the first syllable.
stress verb PRONOUNCE
2. [ T ] to pronounce a word or syllable with greater force than other words in the same sentence or other syllables in the same word,
or to play a musical note with greater force than others in a group
In the word 'engine', you should stress the first syllable.
stumble verb PAUSE
3. [ I ] to make a mistake, such as repeating something or pausing for too long, while speaking or playing a piece of music
When the poet stumbled over a line in the middle of a poem, someone in the audience corrected him.
tone noun VOICE EXPRESSION
1. [ U ] a quality in the voice which expresses the speaker's feelings or thoughts, often towards the person being spoken to
I tried to use a sympathetic tone of voice .
Don't speak to me in that tone of voice (= angrily) , young lady!
It wasn't so much what she said that annoyed me - it was her tone.
-toned suffix
having the tone or tones described
Low-toned mutterings could be heard in the next room.
toneless adjective LITERARY
(of a voice) not expressing any emotion

tongue twister noun [ C ]

a sentence or phrase that is intended to be difficult to say, especially when repeated quickly and often
'She sells seashells on the seashore' is a well-known tongue twister.
vocal adjective OF THE VOICE
1. relating to or produced by the voice, either in singing or speaking
a piece of vocal music
The six principal roles in this opera have an average vocal range of two octaves.
vocally adverb
well-spoken adjective APPROVING
having a pleasant and polite way of speaking which is considered socially acceptable
The two men who called at the house were well-spoken and had a reassuring manner.
inflection , UK ALSO inflexion noun SPEECH
2. [ C or U ] the way in which the sound of your voice changes during speech, for example when you emphasize particular words
His voice was low and flat, with almost no inflection.

Re ceived Pronunci ation noun [ U ] ( ABBREVIATION RP ) UK

SPECIALIZED

the standard way in which middle-class speakers of southern British English pronounce words
drop your aitches/h's UK
to not pronounce the letter h at the beginning of words in which it should be pronounced
drop your aitches UK
to not pronounce the 'h' at the beginning of words
get your tongue round/around sth
to pronounce a difficult word or phrase
It's one language that I have real difficulty getting my tongue round.
trip off the tongue
Something that trips off the tongue is easy to say or pronounce
The new company will need to have a name that trips off the tongue and is easy to remember.