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

cynical

/ˈsɪnɪkəl/ adjective

  1. adjective Of or relating to the belief that human actions are motivated only or primarily by base desires or selfishness.
  2. adjective Skeptical of the integrity, sincerity, or motives of others.
  3. adjective Bitterly or jadedly distrustful or contemptuous; mocking.
  4. adjective Showing contempt for accepted moral standards by one's actions.
  5. adjective (medicine, rare) Like the actions of a snarling dog, especially in reference to facial nerve paralysis.
  6. adjective Of or relating to the Cynics, a sect of Ancient Greek philosophers who believed virtue to be the only good and self-control to be the only means of achieving virtue.

Synonyms

misanthropic misanthropical

Etymology

Originated 1542, from Classical Latin cynicus (“Cynic/cynic”, adjective) + -al. By surface analysis, cynic + -al. In reference to dogs, with allusion to the ultimate etymology (Ancient Greek κυνικός (kunikós, “doglike”)).

Webster’s 1913

  1. adjective Having the qualities of a surly dog; snarling; captious; currish.
  2. adjective Pertaining to the Dog Star; as, the cynic, or Sothic, year; cynic cycle.

Etymology [L. cynicus of the sect of Cynics, fr. Gr. Hound.]

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