Heteronym
"Conduct" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say KON-dukt when it means behavior (noun), and kun-DUKT when it means to lead or carry out (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
noun
KON-dukt
behavior
“His conduct was excellent.”
verb
kun-DUKT
to lead or carry out
“She will conduct the orchestra.”
Each button speaks the respelling, not the spelling — otherwise the speech engine would pick a single default pronunciation for both senses.
| Pronunciation | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| KON-dukt | noun | behavior |
| kun-DUKT | verb | to lead or carry out |
"Conduct" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say KON-dukt when it means behavior (noun), and kun-DUKT when it means to lead or carry out (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
Pronounced KON-dukt, "conduct" is a noun meaning behavior. For example: "His conduct was excellent."
Pronounced kun-DUKT, "conduct" is a verb meaning to lead or carry out. For example: "She will conduct the orchestra."
"Conduct" is a heteronym: two distinct words that happen to be spelled the same way. English spelling did not standardise around pronunciation, so unrelated words sometimes converged on one spelling while keeping separate sounds.
See the full entry for “conduct”, browse all 76 heteronyms and stress pairs, or learn how English stress works.