100 Hard to Say Words in English

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 Introduction
English pronunciation has its rules, but its exceptions are making a few words hard to say. These 100 hard to say words is a short list to help learners to pronounce some challenging words in English, which has both difficult and common ones for various users to try. We leverage the computer's text-to-speak feature to pronounce them word by word. Try it, and hear how Google, Apple, or Microsoft's guys say these difficult words.
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 100 Hard to Say Words in English

100 Hard to Say Words in English

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accede
affidavit
alias
anathema
anemone
antarctic
apocryphal
athlete
barbiturate
boatswain
cache
cacophony
camaraderie
cardsharp
cavalry
choir
colloquialism
colonel
conch
cornet
debauch
demagogue
dilate
diphtheria
draught
electoral
emollient
epitome
espouse
espresso
fatuous
February
foliage
forte
foyer
grandiloquent
hegemony
hierarchy
ignominious
inchoate
isthmus
jewelry
knell
larynx
liable
library
maelstrom
masonry
mauve
mayonnaise
miniature
mischievous
moot
nadir
neophyte
noisome
nuptial
onomatopoeia
ordnance
orient
ostensibly
panacea
parentheses
parliament
penguin
percolate
peremptory
pernickety
perspire
phenomenon
phlegmatic
pollute
posthumous
potable
prerogative
pronunciation
protean
puerile
pulchritude
quinoa
quixotic
relevant
respite
rural
sanguine
scissors
segue
sherbet
silicon
sixth
squirrel
staid
successful
suite
supremacist
surfeit
synecdoche
temperature
tenet
timbre
triathlon
truculent
verbiage
voluptuous
yolk
zephyr
zoology
Word and Definition List
accede   Speak
v. agree or express agreement, take on duties or office
affidavit   Speak
n. written declaration made under oath, a written statement sworn to be true before someone legally authorized to administer an oath
alias   Speak
ad. as known or named at another time or place
anathema   Speak
n. a formal curse by a pope or a council of the Church, excommunicating a person or denouncing a doctrine
anemone   Speak
n. any woodland plant of the genus Anemone grown for its beautiful flowers and whorls of dissected leaves
antarctic   Speak
n. the region around the south pole, at or near the south pole
apocryphal   Speak
a. of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true
athlete   Speak
n. a person trained to compete in sports
barbiturate   Speak
n. organic compound having powerful soporific effect, overdose can be fatal
boatswain   Speak
n. ship,s officer in charge of equipment
cache   Speak
n. a secret store of valuables or money
cacophony   Speak
n. harsh discordant mixture of sounds
camaraderie   Speak
n. the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability
cardsharp   Speak
n. a person who cheats at cards in order to win money
cavalry   Speak
n. a highly mobile army unit, troops trained to fight on horseback
choir   Speak
n. a family of similar musical instrument playing together
colloquialism   Speak
n. characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
colonel   Speak
n. a commissioned military officer in the army who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
conch   Speak
n. a large spiral shell, or the tropical snail-like sea creature that lives in it
cornet   Speak
n. a brass musical instrument with a brilliant tone, has a narrow tube and a flared bell and is played by means of valves
debauch   Speak
n. a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
demagogue   Speak
n. a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions and prejudices
dilate   Speak
v. add details, as to an account or idea, clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing
diphtheria   Speak
n. a serious infectious disease that causes fever and difficulty in breathing and swallowing
draught   Speak
n. a current of unpleasantly cold air blowing through a room
electoral   Speak
a. relating to or composed of electors, of or relating to elections
emollient   Speak
a. having a softening or soothing effect especially to the skin
epitome   Speak
n. a standard or typical example, a brief abstract (as of an article or book)
espouse   Speak
v. take in marriage, become involved with or support an activity or opinion
espresso   Speak
n. strong coffee, or a cup of this, made by forcing hot water through crushed coffee beans and served without milk
fatuous   Speak
a. stupid, not correct, or not carefully thought about
February   Speak
n. the month following January and preceding March
foliage   Speak
n. the leaves of a plant or tree, or leaves on the stems or branches on which they are growing
forte   Speak
a. a strong ability, something that a person can do well
foyer   Speak
n. a large entrance or reception room or area
grandiloquent   Speak
a. puffed up with vanity, lofty in style
hegemony   Speak
n. the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others
hierarchy   Speak
n. a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system, the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body
ignominious   Speak
a. (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame
inchoate   Speak
a. only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
isthmus   Speak
n. a narrow piece of land with water on each side that joins two larger areas of land
jewelry   Speak
n. an adornment made of precious metals and set with gems
knell   Speak
v. ring as in announcing death
larynx   Speak
n. an organ in humans and animals between the nose and the lungs that contains the muscles to create the voice or sounds
liable   Speak
a. held legally responsible, subject to legal action
library   Speak
n. a depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study
maelstrom   Speak
n. a powerful circular current of water (usually the result of conflicting tides)
masonry   Speak
n. the bricks and pieces of stone that are used to make a building
mauve   Speak
n. pale purple colour, pale purple aniline dye
mayonnaise   Speak
n. a thick, white sauce made from oil, vinegar, and the yellow part of eggs, usually eaten cold
miniature   Speak
a. used to describe something that is a very small copy of an object
mischievous   Speak
a. deliberately causing harm or damage, naughtily or annoyingly playful
moot   Speak
v. think about carefully, suggest something for discussion
nadir   Speak
n. an extreme state of adversity, the lowest point of anything
neophyte   Speak
n. any new participant in some activity
noisome   Speak
a. offensively malodorous, very unpleasant and offensive
nuptial   Speak
a. belonging or relating to a marriage or to the state of being married
onomatopoeia   Speak
n. using words that imitate the sound they denote
ordnance   Speak
n. military supplies, especially weapons and bombs
orient   Speak
v. adjust to a specific need or market, make someone familiar with a new place
ostensibly   Speak
ad. in a way that appears or claims to be one thing when it is really something else
panacea   Speak
n. something that will solve all problems
parentheses   Speak
n. round brackets, the symbols that are put around a word, phrase, or sentence in a piece of writing
parliament   Speak
n. a legislative assembly in certain countries
penguin   Speak
n. short-legged flightless birds of cold southern, especially Antarctic regions
percolate   Speak
v. move slowly through a substance with very small holes in it
peremptory   Speak
a. not allowing contradiction or refusal, putting an end to all debate or action
pernickety   Speak
a. placing too much emphasis on minor details
perspire   Speak
v. sweat, pass liquid through the skin
phenomenon   Speak
n. any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning
phlegmatic   Speak
a. showing little emotion, not emotional or excited about things
pollute   Speak
v. make an area or substance, usually air, water, or soil, dirty or harmful to people, animals, and plants
posthumous   Speak
a. occurring or coming into existence after a person's death
potable   Speak
a. clean and safe to drink, suitable for drinking
prerogative   Speak
n. a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group, especially a hereditary or official right
pronunciation   Speak
n. the way a word or a language is customarily spoken, the manner in which someone utters a word
protean   Speak
a. taking on different forms, easily and continuously changing
puerile   Speak
a. of or characteristic of a child, displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity
pulchritude   Speak
n. physical beauty, especially of a woman
quinoa   Speak
n. the seeds of a South American plant that are cooked and eaten as food
quixotic   Speak
a. not sensible about practical matters, idealistic and unrealistic
relevant   Speak
a. having a bearing on or connection with the subject at issue
respite   Speak
v. postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal, such as an execution
rural   Speak
a. of or relating to the countryside as opposed to the city, living in or characteristic of farming or country life
sanguine   Speak
a. confidently optimistic and cheerful, positive and hoping for good things
scissors   Speak
n. a device used for cutting materials such as paper, cloth, and hair, consisting of two sharp blades
segue   Speak
v. proceed without interruption in music or talk, change smoothly from one state or situation to another
sherbet   Speak
n. a frozen dessert made primarily of fruit juice and sugar, but also containing milk or egg-white or gelatin
silicon   Speak
n. a tetravalent nonmetallic element, the most abundant element in the earth's crust that occurs in clay
sixth   Speak
a. coming next after the fifth and just before the seventh in position
squirrel   Speak
n. a small furry animal with a long tail which climbs trees and feeds on nuts and seeds
staid   Speak
a. serious, boring, and slightly old-fashioned
successful   Speak
a. having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome
suite   Speak
n. a set of connected rooms, especially in a hotel
supremacist   Speak
n. a person who advocates the supremacy of some particular group or race over all others
surfeit   Speak
n. the state of being more than full, the quality of being so overabundant that prices fall
synecdoche   Speak
n. a word or phrase in which a part of something is used to refer to the whole of it
temperature   Speak
n. the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment, he somatic sensation of cold or heat
tenet   Speak
n. one of the principles on which a belief or theory is based
timbre   Speak
n. a quality of sound that makes voices or musical instruments sound different from each other
triathlon   Speak
n. athletic contest consisting of three different events
truculent   Speak
a. defiantly aggressive, unpleasant and likely to argue a lot
verbiage   Speak
n. the manner in which something is expressed in words, overabundance of words
voluptuous   Speak
a. (of a woman's body) having soft, curved, sexually attractive body
yolk   Speak
n. the yellow, middle part of an egg
zephyr   Speak
n. a slight wind, usually refreshing
zoology   Speak
n. the branch of biology that studies animals