How to pronounce "negligent" in English
ˈnɛɡlɪdʒənt
NEG·lih·jənt
Primary stress: NEG
Hear native speakers say negligent in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “negligent”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
NEG
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
lih
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
jənt
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the first syllable ("NEG"). 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 "negligent" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "negligent is" sounds like "negligent-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "negligent" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“negligent or to determine the amount of Damages for defendants who have been found negligent or for both determinations”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“negligent a negligible rather part of the total population McCain significantly underperformed George W bush among”— StanfordWatch clip
“per negligent you least bothered to see the raise of the Sun at school last one”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“and negligent notwithstanding so old in in over the south fence and”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“are negligent they leave a garbage lying around in the forest or around the the built up areas that ignite”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“for negligent driving causing the accident that would be a tort suit defamation which would be Lial or or”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “negligent”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
negligent or to determine the amount of Damages for defendants who have been found negligent or for both determinations
Hear it in context: “negligent”
229 clipsThe English word “negligent” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˈnɛɡlɪdʒənt (phonetic respelling: NEG-lih-jənt). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (NEG · lih · jənt), with primary lexical stress placed on the 1st (initial) syllable (NEG). Grammatically, “negligent” functions as a adjective. SayItVid indexes 229 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “negligent” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from YaleCourses, Stanford, TEDx Talks.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #1 · @0:51
“existence of pain and suffering either to determine whether the defendant was negligent or to determine the amount of Damages for defendants who have been found negligent or for both determinations found negligent or for both determinations”
- 🇺🇸 USStanfordClip #2 · @67:19
“meaningful populations in states where even just very recently they were a negligent a negligible rather part of the total population McCain significantly underperformed George W bush among significantly underperformed George W bush among”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #3 · @9:09
“father decides everything permissive yes a child decides when to go and come back per negligent you least bothered to see the raise of the Sun at school last one is authoritative which experts say is the best one your but you decide please”
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #4 · @8:34
“with a great deal of concern sensible I thought and negligent notwithstanding so old in in over the south fence and notwithstanding to be sensible than now what made me cast in my mind whether I”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @4:54
“as always in the summer you have fires in greece because people are negligent they leave a garbage lying around in the forest or around the the built up areas that ignite around the the built up areas that ignite”
Definition & Meaning: “negligent”
- Careless or inattentive.
- Culpable due to negligence.
Example Sentences (3)
- “grossly negligent”
- “prove someone negligent”
- “negligent or to determine the amount of Damages for defendants who have been found negligent or for both determinations”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “negligent”
- Pronunciation:
- NEG-lih-jənt
- Syllables:
- NEG · lih · jənt
- Written Hyphenation:
- neg · li · gent
- Primary stress:
- NEG
- IPA:
- ˈnɛɡlɪdʒənt
- Hear it in context
- negligent
Words that Rhyme with “negligent”
-ɛglɪdʒəntWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"negligent" (⁄ˈnɛɡlɪdʒənt⁄) 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, "negligent" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about negligent
How do you pronounce “negligent”?
“negligent” is pronounced ⁄ˈnɛɡlɪdʒənt⁄ (NEG-lih-jənt). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “negligent”?
“negligent” has 3 syllables: NEG · lih · jənt.
Where is the stress in “negligent”?
The primary stress in “negligent” is on “NEG”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “negligent” mean?
Careless or inattentive.
How can I hear “negligent” used in real sentences?
This page has 229 real-world video examples of “negligent” 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 “negligent”?
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⁄).