How to pronounce "adolescent" in English
ˌædəˈlɛsənt
a·də·LE·sənt
Primary stress: LE
Hear native speakers say adolescent in context across real video clips
center. A long-term objective of her lab is to inform a potential linkage between adolescent specific emotional changes, brain functioning, and the tendency for psychiatric illness and suboptimal decisions to emerge during the second psychiatric illness and suboptimal decisions to emerge during the second
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “adolescent”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
a
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
də
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
LE
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
sənt
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the third syllable ("LE"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels.
How Native Speakers Say It: Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "adolescent" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "adolescent is" sounds like "adolescent-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "adolescent" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“adolescent specific emotional changes, brain functioning, and the tendency for psychiatric illness and suboptimal decisions to emerge during the second”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“adolescent doors arts and i f or the boundless teenage white slave peter”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“adolescent members who take the message of Peace back to their families War teaches us that if we can”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“adolescent boys from the local gangs who'd heard that a new provision had opened on the block”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“adolescent's emotions as it is their mind.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“adolescent smoked the same joint, it would make them 10 times higher.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “adolescent”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
adolescent specific emotional changes, brain functioning, and the tendency for psychiatric illness and suboptimal decisions to emerge during the second
Hear it in context: “adolescent”
940 clipsThe English word “adolescent” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˌædəˈlɛsənt (phonetic respelling: a-də-LE-sənt). Phonologically, it consists of 4 syllables (a · də · LE · sənt), with primary lexical stress placed on the 3rd syllable (LE). Grammatically, “adolescent” functions as a adjective, noun. SayItVid indexes 940 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “adolescent” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from YaleCourses, Harvard University.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #1 · @0:51
“center. A long-term objective of her lab is to inform a potential linkage between adolescent specific emotional changes, brain functioning, and the tendency for psychiatric illness and suboptimal decisions to emerge during the second psychiatric illness and suboptimal decisions to emerge during the second”
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #2 · @6:01
“whether it is the rebellious beatnik st. francis that doped up and troubled adolescent doors arts and i f or the boundless teenage white slave peter McCutchen how extends her radical compassion and love to all young beings”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @10:41
“opinion of misero the youth center has been an incredible success it has 28,000 adolescent members who take the message of Peace back to their families War teaches us that if we can families War teaches us that if we can”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @7:45
“and we ended up with about a hundred adolescent boys from the local gangs who'd heard that a new provision had opened on the block who'd heard that a new provision had”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @7:27
“individually and socially. uh it's was as important to educate a child's or an adolescent's emotions as it is their mind. And when you take this out of the education of 60 million American kids uh and you focus on developing low-level”
Definition & Meaning: “adolescent”
- Of, relating to, or at the age of adolescence; at the stage between being a child and an adult.
- A person who is in adolescence; someone who has reached puberty but is not yet an adult.
Example Sentences (3)
- “Schools, unless discipline were doubly strong, / Detain their adolescent charge too long.”
- “It may be wartime, but Miss Adolescent wants her fun!”
- “adolescent specific emotional changes, brain functioning, and the tendency for psychiatric illness and suboptimal decisions to emerge during the second”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “adolescent”
- Pronunciation:
- a-də-LE-sənt
- Syllables:
- a · də · LE · sənt
- Written Hyphenation:
- ad · o · les · cent
- Primary stress:
- LE
- IPA:
- ˌædəˈlɛsənt
- Hear it in context
- adolescent
Words that Rhyme with “adolescent”
-ɛsəntWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"adolescent" (⁄ˌædəˈlɛsənt⁄) has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "adolescent" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about adolescent
How do you pronounce “adolescent”?
“adolescent” is pronounced ⁄ˌædəˈlɛsənt⁄ (a-də-LE-sənt). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “adolescent”?
“adolescent” has 4 syllables: a · də · LE · sənt.
Where is the stress in “adolescent”?
The primary stress in “adolescent” is on “LE”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “adolescent” mean?
Of, relating to, or at the age of adolescence; at the stage between being a child and an adult.
How can I hear “adolescent” used in real sentences?
This page has 940 real-world video examples of “adolescent” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “adolescent”?
Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels. Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).