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

point-blank

adjective, adverb

Forms point blank pointblank

  1. adjective (forensics) Very close; not touching but not more than a few metres (yards).
  2. adjective (ballistics) The distance between a firearm and a target where a projectile in flight is expected to strike the centre of the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm.
  3. adjective Disconcertingly straightforward or blunt; outright. “a point-blank assertion”
  4. adverb In a direct manner, without hesitation.

Synonyms

blunt candid forthright frank free-spoken outspoken plainspoken straight-from-the-shoulder

Etymology

From French point blanc (“white point”), originally referring to the white spot to be aimed at on a target (see blank's "bull's eye") or alternatively into empty space being fired horizontally.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun The white spot on a target, at which an arrow or other missile is aimed. [Obs.] Jonson.
  2. noun (a) With all small arms, the second point in which the natural line of sight, when horizontal, cuts the trajectory.
  3. adjective Directed in a line toward the object aimed at; aimed directly toward the mark.
  4. adjective Hence, direct; plain; unqualified; --said of language; as, a point-blank assertion. Point-blank range, the extent of the apparent right line of a ball discharged.

Etymology [F. point point + blanc white.]

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