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

bugbear

UK /ˈbʌɡ.bɛə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈbʌɡ.bɛɚ/ noun, verb

Forms bugbears bugbearing bugbeared bug-bear

  1. noun An ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.
  2. noun A source of dread; resentment; or irritation.
  3. noun (folklore, fantasy) A generic creature, often described as a large goblin, meant to inspire fear in children.
  4. verb (transitive) To alarm with idle phantoms.

Synonyms

pet peeve anathema antipathy bête noire bogeyman bogey bug-a-boo bugaboo boogeyman booger hobgoblin

Etymology

From obsolete meaning of bug (“something terrifying”) + bear. See Middle English bugge, modern bogey.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun Something frightful, as a specter; anything imaginary that causes needless fright; something used to excite needless fear; also, something really dangerous, used to frighten children, etc. "Bugaboos to fright ye." Lloyd.
  2. noun Same as Bugaboo.
  3. noun Causing needless fright. Locke.
  4. verb To alarm with idle phantoms.

Etymology [See Bug.]

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bugbear”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details