How to Pronounce “psychiatrist”

American (US)

/saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/

British (UK)

/saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/

noun — A medical doctor who diagnoses and treats mental illness.

Example: The psychiatrist adjusted his prescription.

The p is silent. “psychiatrist” comes through Greek, where ps- was a single sound English never adopted. The p is dropped: the word begins on /s/.

Where the stress falls. “psychiatrist” has 4 syllables, and the transcription /saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/ 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. /saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/ 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 "psychiatrist" mean?

psychiatrist (noun): A medical doctor who diagnoses and treats mental illness. For example — The psychiatrist adjusted his prescription.

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

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "psychiatrist", /saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/, 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 "psychiatrist"?

/saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/ in American English, /saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/ in British English.

Which syllable is stressed in "psychiatrist"?

“psychiatrist” has 4 syllables, and the transcription /saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/ 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.

• Silent P words
• Job titles