5 syllables: El, i, ci, ta, tion. Stress on ta.
il-is-it-AY-shuhn
/ɪˌlɪsɪtˈeɪʃən/
Elicitation is pronounced il-is-it-AY-shuhn (/ɪˌlɪsɪtˈeɪʃən/). It has five syllables (El-i-ci-ta-tion), with the stress on "ta". Elicitation is the act of drawing out a response, information, or reaction from someone, often through questioning, prompting, or subtle persuasion. It involves careful listening and strategic phrasing to obtain a desired disclosure, insight, or admission. The term is commonly used in psychology, interrogation, linguistics, and intelligence contexts to describe a deliberate extraction process.
nounElicitation is the act of drawing out a response, information, or reaction from someone, often through questioning, prompting, or subtle persuasion. It involves careful listening and strategic phrasing to obtain a desired disclosure, insight, or admission. The term is commonly used in psychology, interrogation, linguistics, and intelligence contexts to describe a deliberate extraction process.
"The detective used careful elicitation to uncover the suspect's alibi without pressing too hard."
"In linguistics, elicitation techniques are employed to gather native speaker data for phonological analysis."
"The training included role-play scenarios to practice elicitation of cooperative responses."
Pronounce as /ɪˌlɪsɪˈteɪʃən/. The main stress lands on the third syllable: li-SI-TA-tion, with a secondary stress on the second syllable in careful speech. Start with a short 'i' in the first syllable, a quick 'li' blend, then the stressed 'teɪ' like 'tay', and finish with 'ʃən' as in 'shun'. Tip: keep jaw slightly lowered and place the tip of your tongue close to the alveolar ridge for the 't' and 'ʃ' sequences.
Common errors: 1) Misplacing the primary stress on the wrong syllable (often stressing earlier syllables). 2) De-emphasizing the /teɪ/ as a quick /tə/ or /tiː/; you should clearly articulate the /teɪ/ as a diphthong. 3) Running together the /l/ and /ɪ/ cluster or turning /lɪsɪ/ into a smoother glide. Correction: mark the syllable boundary as e-li-ci-ta-tion and practice the vowel sequence /lɪsɪˈteɪ/ with a crisp /t/ before the /eɪ/. Practice slow then speed up.
US/UK/AU share /ɪˌlɪsɪˈteɪʃən/ but there are subtle shifts. US often reduces vowels in unstressed syllables and has rhoticity affecting surrounding vowels (non-rhotic in some dialects can affect /ɪ/ in interest-like patterns). UK may have crisper consonants, with less vowel reduction and longer /ɪ/ in first syllables. AU tends to a centralized, flatter vowel quality with slightly broader /eɪ/ diphthong in /teɪ/. Overall, primary stress remains on the third syllable; the main variance is in vowel quality and the speed of the central vowels.
Key challenges: the three-syllable rhythm with /ɪˌlɪsɪˈteɪʃən/ includes a prominent /teɪ/ in the stressed syllable and a final schwa-like /ən/ that can reduce in rapid speech. The sequence /lɪs/ can blur if the tongue isn’t relaxed, and the /ʃ/ before the /ən/ is tricky if you’re not precise with the tongue blade. Focus on separating /lɪsɪ/ from /teɪʃən/, keep the /t/ crisp, and avoid turning /t/ into a flap.
There is no silent letter in elicitation. Every letter typically contributes to the pronunciation: e-l-i-c-i-t-a-t-i-o-n. The main silent-letter considerations come from reduced vowels in rapid speech, like the final /ən/ becoming a schwa and not fully pronounced as /ən/ in casual speech. Pronounce each syllable clearly in careful practice to avoid swallowing vowels.
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Elicitation comes from the Latin verb elicere, meaning to draw out, pull forth. Elicit-, from e- (out) + licere (to be permitted, allow), evolved through French as eliciter and then into English in the 17th century with senses related to drawing forth information, feelings, or reactions. The noun elicitation emerged as a specialized term in academic, legal, and intelligence contexts to describe the act or process of drawing out knowledge or responses. Over time, its usage broadened to include elicitation in linguistics (experimental data collection), psychology (eliciting responses in studies or therapy), and security (information extraction under lightly coercive circumstances). First known uses appear in early modern legal and scholarly writings where “eliciting” responses from witnesses or subjects was a formal activity. By the 20th century, elicitation had become a standard term in fields that require careful, strategic questioning and data gathering. The shift from general “drawing out” to a technical concept of “structured prompting” marks the core evolution of the word. Its core meaning—triggering a response through skillful prompting—remains constant, even as the contexts have diversified from rhetoric to research and intelligence gathering.
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Words that rhyme with "Elicitation"
-ion sounds
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