3 syllables: Re, qui, te. Stress on qui.
rik-WEYET
/ɹɪˈkwaɪt/
Requite is pronounced rik-WEYET (/ɹɪˈkwaɪt/). It has three syllables (Re-qui-te), with the stress on "qui". Requite is a verb meaning to return a favor or wrongdoing with a corresponding action; to repay or recompense. It often carries a sense of reciprocation, whether in kindness or retribution, and can imply a formal or literary tone. Usage tends toward personal, moral, or classical contexts rather than everyday casual speech.
verbRequite is a verb meaning to return a favor or wrongdoing with a corresponding action; to repay or recompense. It often carries a sense of reciprocation, whether in kindness or retribution, and can imply a formal or literary tone. Usage tends toward personal, moral, or classical contexts rather than everyday casual speech.
- You’ll often hear people misplace the stress, saying RE-kwite or re-KWITE; to fix this, practice a clear break: first syllable lightly, strong emphasis on the second: ri-KWITE. - The /kwaɪ/ blend can be slurred; ensure a crisp /k/ release into /w/ and then the /aɪ/ diphthong; do slow drills isolating /kwaɪ/ then integrate with the full word. - The final /t/ can be flapped or omitted in rapid speech; enforce a full stop at the end of the word by finishing with a crisp /t/ and a short release. By training with minimal pairs and tongue-position cues, you’ll hear a sharper, more native finish.
How to Pronounce Requite
"She pledged to requite his kindness with unwavering support."
"The court sought to requite the harm caused by the offense."
"He feared that betraying her trust would requite both actions with retaliation."
Pronounce as /rɪˈkwaɪt/ in US/UK/AU. The first syllable is a short /ɪ/ followed by the stressed diphthong /aɪ/ in the second syllable; finish with a voiceless /t/. Think ‘ri-QUITE’ with emphasis on the second syllable. Practice by saying ‘ri’ quickly, then glide into the /kwaɪ/ nucleus and end with /t/. Audio reference: you can compare to concise pronunciations on standard dictionaries or YouGlish; ensure the /kwaɪ/ cluster is tightly blended and the /t/ is clean. IPA: US/UK/AU rɪˈkwaɪt.
The two most common mistakes: 1) Misplacing stress, saying re-KWITE or RE-kwite; ensure the stress falls on the second syllable (ɪˈkwaɪt). 2) Slurring the /kw/ into a hard /k/ or misproducing the /aɪ/ as a short /i/ or /eɪ/; keep the /aɪ/ as a clear diphthong /aɪ/ with a smooth glide from /w/ into /aɪ/. Correct by isolating the /kwaɪ/ cluster and practicing minimal pairs with /kwaɪt/ versus mispronounced forms.
In all three accents, the word is /rɪˈkwaɪt/. Differences lie mainly in rhoticity and vowel quality: US and AU typically have rhotic /ɹ/ and a clear /r/; UK often retains non-rhotic R-coloring in careful speech. The /ɪ/ in the first syllable is short in all, but some UK speakers may slightly lengthen vowels. The /aɪ/ diphthong is pronounced with a more prominent glide in US; AU tends toward a slightly broader vowel. Overall the core is rɪˈkwaɪt; the final /t/ is crisp in all variants.
The difficulty lies in the two-part structure: the initial unstressed /ɪ/ can be reduced in rapid speech, potentially making the word sound like /rɪˈkwaɪt/ with a weaker first vowel. The second syllable contains a strong /aɪ/ diphthong and a tricky /kw/ onset that can blur into /k/ or /kw/ with a weak /w/ bridging. Finally, the final /t/ requires a crisp release to avoid a smoothed stop. Practicing the /kwaɪ/ cluster and timing stress helps stabilize accuracy.
The word carries a precise sense of returning a favor or harm, and its pronunciation reflects a longer second syllable with clear stress. The combination /rɪˈkwaɪt/ stands out because the /ɪ/ is short and the /aɪ/ vowel sequence demands precise mouth positioning: lips rounded minimally for the /w/ following the /k/ and a smooth glide into /aɪ/. This word also often appears in formal prose or historical contexts, reinforcing its distinct cadence.
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- US: rhotic /ɹ/ sound before the vowel, with a tighter, rounded /ɹ/; strong /aɪ/ glide; final /t/ crisp. - UK: maintain non-rhoticity in connected speech but in careful speech you’ll still hear /r/ or lack of linking; start with a light /ɹ/ or no linking; /aɪ/ remains a clear diphthong. - AU: similar to US but with slightly broader vowels; the /r/ remains non-rhotic in many contexts; keep the /aɪ/ precise and avoid falling into a flat /aɪ/; pronouncing the /t/ clearly helps. IPA references: /rɪˈkwaɪt/ across all three, with minor rhotic cues.
Requite comes from Old French requiter, derived from late Latin requittere, from Latin re- ‘back’ + quaerere ‘to seek, ask for, obtain.’ The semantic arc moved from ‘to requite’ meaning to demand or require repayment to the modern sense of returning a favor or recompensing harm. In Middle English, spellings varied (requitem, requiter), reflecting influences from Norman French and Latin. By the 14th–15th centuries, English adoption favored forms akin to ‘requite,’ aligning with other verbs formed with re- prefixes signaling a back-and-forth action. The shift towards moral causation—responding to an action with an equivalent action—became commonplace in literary and legal diction, especially in sermons, romances, and scholastic prose. Today, ‘requite’ remains relatively formal and literary, often used with nouns like ‘kindness,’ ‘grace,’ or ‘wrongs,’ and less common in casual modern speech except in stylistic writing or historical contexts.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Requite" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Requite"
-ite sounds
-ght sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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