How to pronounce sly
Say it like SLY. Sly is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce sly. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SLY
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Sly pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SLYSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "i" in time.
American vs British pronunciation of sly
American and British speakers say sly in essentially the same way: /slaɪ/ in the US and /slaɪ/ in the UK.
British respelling: SLY.
What does sly mean?
- Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
- Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice
- Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle“a sly trick”
- Slyly.
Where does sly come from?
Cognate with Icelandic slægur (“crafty, sly”), Norwegian Nynorsk sløg (“sly”).
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with sly
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of sly.
Questions about saying sly
How do you pronounce sly?
Say SLY. The American pronunciation is /slaɪ/. In British English it is /slaɪ/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in sly?
Sly is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SLY.
Do Americans and Brits say sly the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /slaɪ/ and the British form is /slaɪ/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.