How to Pronounce “pathology”

American (US)

/pəˈθɒləd͡ʒi/

British (UK)

/pəˈθɒləd͡ʒi/

noun — The study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences; now usually and especially in the clinical and academic medicine subsenses defined below.

Example: The surgeon sent a specimen of the cyst to the hospital's pathology department for staining and analysis to determine its histologic subtype.

Where the stress falls. “pathology” has 4 syllables, and the transcription /pəˈθɒləd͡ʒi/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the second one — so the second syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.

An unstressed vowel reduces to schwa. /pəˈθɒləd͡ʒi/ 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 "pathology" mean?

pathology (noun): The study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences; now usually and especially in the clinical and academic medicine subsenses defined below. For example — The surgeon sent a specimen of the cyst to the hospital's pathology department for staining and analysis to determine its histologic subtype.

How do you pronounce "pathology" in American vs British English?

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "pathology", /pəˈθɒləd͡ʒi/, so the difference you hear is in how the vowels are coloured rather than in which sounds are used. Play both on this page to compare.

What is the IPA transcription of "pathology"?

/pəˈθɒləd͡ʒi/ in American English, /pəˈθɒləd͡ʒi/ in British English.

Which syllable is stressed in "pathology"?

“pathology” has 4 syllables, and the transcription /pəˈθɒləd͡ʒi/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the second one — so the second syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.