pronounce
Americanverb (used with object)
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pronounces,
present (3rd person singular)
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pronounced,
past participle, past
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pronouncing
present participle
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to enunciate or articulate (sounds, words, sentences, etc.).
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to utter or sound in a particular manner in speaking.
He pronounces his words indistinctly.
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to utter or articulate in the accepted or correct manner.
I can't pronounce this word.
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to declare (a person or thing) to be as specified.
She pronounced it the best salmon she had ever tasted.
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to utter or deliver formally or solemnly.
to pronounce sentence.
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to announce authoritatively or officially.
The judge pronounced the defendant guilty.
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to indicate the pronunciation of (words) by providing a phonetic transcription.
This dictionary pronounces most of the words entered.
verb (used without object)
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pronounces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pronounced,
past participle, past
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pronouncing
present participle
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to pronounce words, phrases, etc.
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to make a statement or assertion, especially an authoritative statement (often followed byon ).
He was required to pronounce on the findings of his research.
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to give an opinion or decision (usually followed byon ).
to pronounce on an important matter.
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to indicate the pronunciation of words.
a spelling book that pronounces.
verb
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to utter or articulate (a sound or sequence of sounds)
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(tr) to utter or articulate (sounds or words) in the correct way
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(tr; may take a clause as object) to proclaim officially and solemnly
I now pronounce you man and wife
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(when tr, may take a clause as object) to declare as one's judgment
to pronounce the death sentence upon someone
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(tr) to make a phonetic transcription of (sounds or words)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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pronounceablenessnoun
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pronouncernoun
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prepronounceverb (used with object)
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pronounceableadjective
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unpronounceableadjective
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unpronouncingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pronouncesimple
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pronouncessimple
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have pronouncedperfect
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has pronouncedperfect
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am pronouncingprogressive
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are pronouncingprogressive
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is pronouncingprogressive
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have been pronouncingperfect progressive
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has been pronouncingperfect progressive
Past
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pronouncedsimple
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had pronouncedperfect
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was pronouncingprogressive
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were pronouncingprogressive
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had been pronouncingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pronounce
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pronouncen, from Middle French prononcier, from Latin prōnūntiāre “to proclaim, announce, recite, utter”; see pro- 1, announce
Explanation
If you have a teacher who asks the class to call him "Mr. B," it's probably because his name is really hard to pronounce. When you pronounce a word, you sound it out. When you say something in a particular way, you pronounce it. The verb pronounce has another meaning, too — "to declare formally." It's not too different from announcing something, but it implies something more official and solemn — just think of the phrase "I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Vocabulary lists containing pronounce
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Excerpt from "Oedipus Rex"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
To argue that calling them immigrants is technically wrong is like getting angry at people who don’t pronounce Los Feliz the Spanish way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
What about foods that contain ingredients I can barely pronounce, never mind recognise?
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
He acknowledged that some people in the industry struggled to spell and pronounce Magrathea and have even called it Margherita.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Yes, the cake is meant to taste like a childhood birthday party — so sweet it makes your teeth ring and artificial, loaded with all kinds of preservatives we can’t quite pronounce.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
Something with a name so hard to pronounce that people don't even try.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
One of his sons pronounces the name "Hit-lay", in order to escape embarrassment, and his grandchildren have taken their mothers' names.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
Larry Mathews, who played son Ritchie on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” pronounces him “chill.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025
“The depths of his self-delusion are staggering,” Mr. Hart pronounces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
He’s a charming voice actor, and she pronounces every word through her nostrils, so they balance each other out better than any other couple on the show.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2025
The way the principal pronounces his new name is different from the way his parents say it, the second part of it longer, sounding like “heel.”
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
The changes were especially pronounced around the large nerve fibers that remained.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
The boy and man were pronounced dead and their next of kin have been made aware, police said.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
The shortfall was even more pronounced on the East Coast, where inventories were more than 22% lower than a year earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
"Emergency services attended and sadly, despite the best efforts of medical personnel, the man was pronounced dead at the scene," it added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
This is because POE and Poe are homonyms, which means they are two different words that are pronounced the same way.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
The funniest part of that conversation is when Sam labels Judith a WOACA, a Woman of a Certain Age, pronouncing it as if he were Fozzie Bear punctuating a joke in an old-timey stand-up set.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
New England is ready to absorb Scotland as its seventh state as soon as the Scots agree to stop pronouncing their r’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Could his trouble pronouncing acetaminophen be a phonemic paraphasic error?
From Slate ● Jan. 26, 2026
"When the institution tried to correct this, it felt like being told you're pronouncing your mate's name wrong."
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
I imagine producing those melodious notes and pronouncing each letter properly—even with others listening—and the idea makes me happy.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
