Learn English – How to pronounce the word ‘vagary’

pronunciation

I'm a native speaker, and I would naturally read the word VAY-guh-ri.

I've never actually heard anyone say the word, I only ever see it in writing.

But I also know that you can pronounce it vuh-GARE-i. Does anyone actually pronounce it like this? Where does this weird pronunciation come from?

Best Answer

It used to be pronounced vuh-GARE-i, but it's changed. As @Tim above stated:

(GenAm) IPA: formerly /ˌvəˈɡɛɹi/, now commonly /ˈveɪˌɡəɹi/

It's usually pronounced VAY -guh-ri, but there are still people who pronounce it the "other way", as can be seen here