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

amateur

UK /ˈæ.mə.tə/ · US /ˈæ.mə.t͡ʃɚ/ noun, adjective

Forms amateurs

  1. noun (now rare) A lover of something.
  2. noun A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, science, or art (such as music or painting), especially one who cultivates any study, interest, taste, or attachment without engaging in it professionally. “The contest is only open to amateurs.”
  3. noun Someone who is unqualified or insufficiently skillful. “The entire thing was built by some amateurs with screwdrivers and plywood.”
  4. adjective Non-professional.
  5. adjective Created, done, or populated by amateurs or non-professionals. “amateur sports”
  6. adjective Showing a lack of professionalism, experience or talent. “Duct tape is a sure sign of amateur workmanship.”

Synonyms

hobbyist dabbler dilettante punk recreational unpaid amateurish inexpert unskilled

Antonyms

professional

Etymology

Borrowed from French amateur, from Latin amātor (“lover”), from amāre (“to love”).

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science as to music or painting; esp. one who cultivates any study or art, from taste or attachment, without pursuing it professionally.

Etymology [F., fr. L. amator lover, fr. amare to love.]

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