Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

wimp

/wɪmp/ noun, verb, adjective

Forms wimps wimping wimped whimp

  1. noun (chiefly derogatory, slang) Someone who lacks confidence or courage, is weak, ineffectual, irresolute and wishy-washy.
  2. verb (intransitive, slang) To behave submissively.
  3. verb (transitive, slang) To make (something) weak or wimpy.
  4. adjective (slang) Weak, wimpy.

Synonyms

sissy softy weenie wuss big girl's blouse candy-arse candy-ass crybaby milksop milquetoast namby namby-pamby nestle-cock pansy pantywaist poon punk pushover pussy tenderling chicken weakly interacting massive particle

Etymology

Possibly a clipping of whimper. The term was understood in the United States by the 1930s, as it was incorporated into the names of two famous media characters known for living up to that name: The devious but cowardly Popeye supporting-character called "J. Wellington Wimpy", and the soft-spoken character "Wallace Wimple" from the radio show Fibber McGee and Molly.

See WIMP.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “wimp”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details