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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

vignette

/vɪnˈjɛt/

Press play to hear how to pronounce vignette.

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