How To Pronounce Intimate

The stress in intimate moves depending on how the word is used.

Adjective. It is /ˈɪn.tɪ.mət/ or /ˈɪn.tɪ.mɪt/ in British English and /ˈɪn.t̯ə.mət/ in American English with the main stress on the first syllable, as in “an intimate friend”.

Verb. It is /ˈɪn.tɪ.meɪt/ in British English and /ˈɪn.t̯ə.meɪt/ in American English with the main stress on the first syllable, as in “to intimate”.

Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.