american english - Variant pronunciation of "obesity"


A question mainly for Americans:


Could you please confirm if some Americans indeed pronounce the "e" of "obesity" as the "ea" of "steady" rather than the "ee" of "bee" (o-be-si-ty instead of o-bee-si-ty? Merriam-Webster lists it as a variant pronunciation, yet, i haven't heard any American say the word this way. Thanks a lot!




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