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

about-face

/əˈbaʊtˌfeɪs/ noun, verb

Forms about-faces about-facing about-faced about face

  1. noun (military) An abrupt turn to face the opposite direction. “The soldier did an about-face and marched off.”
  2. noun (figurative) A reversal in direction; a reversal of attitude or opinion. “When Luke heard the news, he did an abrupt about-face on the policy.”
  3. verb (intransitive) To turn 180 degrees to face the opposite direction. “The soldiers would about-face immediately after the order was given.”
  4. verb To change opinion or attitude drastically. “A politician will about-face at the drop of a hat if he thinks there are votes in it.”

Synonyms

about turn volte-face reversal policy change

Etymology

From about + face, first attested in 1861, used in the imperative in the military.

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