How to pronounce

Heresy pronunciation

/ˈhɛ.rə.si/
HEH-ruh-see

Heresy has 3 syllables. The stress is on the first syllable, "heh". Capital letters in the respelling show where the stress falls.

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Accent

Press record, say "heresy" once or twice at normal speed, then stop. You will see which syllables matched and what to change.

Heresy syllables

Heresy has 3 syllables: HEH-ruh-see.

  1. HEH
  2. ruh
  3. seesi

HAIR-uh-see, three syllables, stress on the first. The first syllable rhymes with "hair", not "here", and the s is soft — it does not pick up the z of "heretic".

Sounds to watch

The r sound

Pull the tongue back and up without touching the roof of the mouth. American r is never rolled or tapped.

Weak syllables

The unstressed syllables use a short, relaxed uh (schwa). Rushing through them lightly is correct; giving them a full vowel sounds unnatural.

Heresy in a sentence

  • Suggesting the earth moved was heresy in his day.
  • In this office, taking a full lunch break is heresy.

Read either sentence into the recorder above. The check judges only the target word, so the rest of the sentence can be rough.

What Speakeroo listens for

These are the pronunciation patterns from Speakeroo’s speech feature catalog that this target tends to expose. The check above reports the ones it hears.

  • Stress placed on the wrong syllableMake the correct syllable longer, clearer and more prominent.
  • /r/ distorted or unclearUse the selected accent’s tongue shape without pressing the tongue against the palate.
  • /h/ omittedBegin with a gentle breath before the following vowel.
  • Schwa not reducedRelax unstressed vowels toward a short neutral sound.
  • Every syllable stressed equallyEmphasise one main syllable and reduce the others.

Questions

How do you pronounce heresy?

Heresy is pronounced /ˈhɛ.rə.si/, or HEH-ruh-see in plain letters. It has 3 syllables and the stress falls on the first syllable, "heh".

How many syllables are in heresy?

3: HEH-ruh-see. The capital letters mark the stressed syllable.

How do you use heresy in a sentence?

Suggesting the earth moved was heresy in his day. In this office, taking a full lunch break is heresy.

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