How to Pronounce “audience”

British (UK)

/ˈɔːdi.əns/

Australian (AU)

/ˈoːdi.əns/

noun — A group of people within hearing; specifically, a large gathering of people listening to or watching a performance, speech, etc.

Example: We joined the audience just as the lights went down.

The final e is silent. The transcription /ˈɔːdi.əns/ ends on a consonant sound, so the written e at the end of “audience” is not pronounced.

Where the stress falls. “audience” has 3 syllables, and the transcription /ˈɔːdi.əns/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the first one — so the first syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.

An unstressed vowel reduces to schwa. /ˈɔːdi.əns/ contains a schwa /ə/ — the short, neutral “uh” that English unstressed syllables collapse into. Saying /ə/ there, instead of the vowel the spelling suggests, is most of what makes the word sound native.

What does "audience" mean?

audience (noun): A group of people within hearing; specifically, a large gathering of people listening to or watching a performance, speech, etc. For example — We joined the audience just as the lights went down.

Which syllable is stressed in "audience"?

“audience” has 3 syllables, and the transcription /ˈɔːdi.əns/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the first one — so the first syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.