How to pronounce rave in American English

IPA /reɪv/ Syllables 1 · rayv Stress 1st syllable

RAYV

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Americans pronounce rave as RAYV (/reɪv/).

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Stress

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Intonation

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"The movie received rave reviews for its stunning visual effects."

dhuh MOO·vee ruh·SEEVD RAYV ruh·VYOOZ fer ihts STUH·nuhng VIH·zhoo·uhl uh·FEHKTS

Questions

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Is the American pronunciation of "rave" different from British English?

American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "RAYV" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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