3 syllables: Ca, pac, ious. Stress on pac.
kuh-PAY-shuhs
/kəˈpeɪʃəs/
Capacious is pronounced kuh-PAY-shuhs (/kəˈpeɪʃəs/). It has three syllables (Ca-pac-ious), with the stress on "pac". Capacious is an adjective meaning having a lot of space inside; roomy or ample. It describes things that can contain much or all that is needed, often implying comfortable, generous capacity. The term is commonly used for spaces, containers, or figurative capacities.
adjectiveCapacious is an adjective meaning having a lot of space inside; roomy or ample. It describes things that can contain much or all that is needed, often implying comfortable, generous capacity. The term is commonly used for spaces, containers, or figurative capacities.
"The capacious suitcase held all her clothes and more."
"They admired the capacious lobby, able to accommodate a thousand guests."
"Her mind was capacious enough to hold many complex ideas."
Capacious is pronounced /kəˈpeɪʃəs/. The primary stress is on the second syllable: kuh- PAY - shuhs. Break it into syllables: ca-pa-cious, with /k/ at the start, the central /ə/ as a quick schwa, /ˈpeɪ/ as the long A, /ʃ/ as in ship, and the final /əs/ as a soft, unstressed schwa + s. For audio reference, you can compare it with pronunciations on standard dictionaries or YouGlish, then mirror the mouth positions: lips relaxed, tip of the tongue near the alveolar ridge for /t/ no; here /p/ is bilabial plosive, /eɪ/ is a tense mid-front vowel, /ʃ/ is a shushing sound from the middle of the mouth. You’ll hear the emphasis in the /ˈpeɪ/ syllable once you practice.【keywords: pronunciation, IPA, stress, syllable, /kəˈpeɪʃəs/】
Common errors include misplacing the stress (trying to stress the first syllable), saying /ˈkæpɪʃəs/ with a short /æ/ in the second syllable, or slurring the /eɪ/ into a quick /ɛ/. To correct: place primary stress on the second syllable: /kəˈpeɪʃəs/. Ensure the /eɪ/ remains a clear long vowel, and end with a crisp /əs/ rather than a loaded /əs/ or /əz/. Practice by isolating the middle /eɪ/ sound with the surrounding /k/ and /ʃ/ transitions, then link to fast speech while keeping the vowel quality intact.
Across US/UK/AU, /kəˈpeɪʃəs/ stays phonetically similar, but rhoticity affects only the preceding /r/ in related words; capacious itself is non-rhotic in practice, so you won’t hear an /r/ after the vowel. UK speakers often maintain clear /ə/ in the first syllable and may slightly lengthen the /eɪ/; US speakers typically have a slightly tighter /ə/ and crisp /ˈpeɪ/. Australian pronunciation mirrors General Australian tendencies: non-rhotic, with a slightly flatter /eɪ/ diphthong and relaxed final /əs/. In all cases, the crucial distinction is the /ˈpeɪ/ stress peak and the final /ʃəs/ sequence.
Capacious challenges two main phonetic features: the long vowel /eɪ/ in the stressed syllable and the consonant cluster /ʃ/ followed by /əs/ at the end. The /eɪ/ requires a precise glide from /e/ to /ɪ/ within one syllable, and the /ʃ/ is a voiceless palato-alveolar fricative that can be misarticulated as /ʃɪ/ or /s/. The final /əs/ demands a rapid, light schwa before a soft /s/. Practicing with slow, exaggerated articulation helps cement the correct mouth positions.
In capacious, the 'ci' digraph is not pronounced as a separate /si/; instead, it forms part of the /ʃ/ sound in the syllable 'ci-ous' where the sequence yields /ʃəs/. The spelling reflects a Latin origin, but in contemporary English the /ci/ is effectively the /ʃ/ plus a light /ə/ before the /s/. So you’re aiming for /kəˈpeɪʃəs/, with /ʃ/ as the characteristic sound and no /si/ sequence.
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Capacious comes from the Latin capaciosus, meaning roomy or spacious, from Latin capax, -ac-, meaning capable of holding, containing, or grasping, from the verb capere, ‘to take, seize.’ The suffix -osus conveys the sense of full of or characterized by. The root cap- is related to cognate forms in many Romance languages, such as French capable and Italian capace. The English word appeared in the 15th century via Old French capacieux and Middle English capasicious, evolving toward the modern form capacious by the Early Modern English period. The core sense of capacity persisted, with metaphorical extensions to the mind or imagination, describing abundance of space, both physical and figurative. Historically, the term maintained its formal, slightly elevated register, often found in literary or descriptive prose. Over time, capacious retained its robust sense of interior space, shifting less toward negative connotations and more toward neutral or positive appreciations of size and capacity.
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Words that rhyme with "Capacious"
-ous sounds
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