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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

vignette

/vɪnˈjɛt/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:41
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Stress “nette” and listen for the “ny” sequence.

Use two syllables, with a light opening vowel. The gn spelling leads into n and y rather than a hard g, followed by the strongest vowel and a final t.

2 syllables · Stress on syllable 2

TRY SAYING
The collection opens with a short vignette.

APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

What does vignette mean?

noun

  1. A running ornament consisting of leaves and tendrils, used in Gothic architecture.
  2. A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position.
  3. Any small borderless picture in a book, especially an engraving, photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge.
More meanings (7)

noun

  1. A short story or anecdote that presents a scene or tableau, or paints a picture.
  2. The central pictorial image on a postage stamp.
  3. The characteristic of a camera lens, either by deficiency in design or by mismatch of the lens with the film format, that produces an image smaller than the film's frame with a crudely focused border. Photographers may deliberately choose this characteristic for a special effect.
  4. Any effect in a photographic picture where qualities vanish towards the edges.
  5. A hardware deficiency (even occurring in most expensive models) of a computer display wherein the picture slants towards a colour or brightness towards the edges especially if viewed from an angle.
  6. A small sticker affixed to a vehicle windscreen to indicate that tolls have been paid.

verb

  1. To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or edge gradually fading away.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/vɪnˈjɛt/

Pronunciation used in the listening tip.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Other dictionary pronunciations

/vinˈjɛt/
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

The name of Soutar has twice escaped my pen, and I feel I owe him a vignette.
Robert Louis StevensonRecords of a Family of EngineersProject Gutenberg ebook #280
After calling at one or two flat places, with low dams stretching out into the lake, whereon were stumpy lighthouses, like windmills without sails, the whole looking like a Dutch vignette, we came at midnight to Cleveland, where we lay all night, and until nine o’clock next morning.
Charles DickensAmerican NotesProject Gutenberg ebook #675