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

pragmatic

/pɹæɡˈmætɪk/ adjective, noun

Forms pragmatics pragmatical pragmatick pragmatique

  1. adjective Practical, concerned with making decisions and actions that are useful in practice, not just theory. “The sturdy furniture in the student lounge was pragmatic, but unattractive.”
  2. adjective Philosophical; dealing with causes, reasons, and effects, rather than with details and circumstances; said of literature.
  3. adjective (linguistics) Relating to the field of pragmatics.
  4. adjective (obsolete) Interfering in the affairs of others; officious; meddlesome.
  5. noun A man of business.
  6. noun A busybody.
  7. noun A public decree.

Synonyms

down-to-earth functional practical utilitarian realistic political pragmatic sanction matter-of-fact pragmatical hardheaded hard-nosed

Antonyms

idealistic

Etymology

From Middle French pragmatique, from Late Latin pragmaticus (“relating to civil affair; in Latin, as a noun, a person versed in the law who furnished arguments and points to advocates and orators, a kind of attorney”), from Ancient Greek πραγματικός (pragmatikós, “active, versed in affairs”), from πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “a thing done, a fact”), in plural πράγματα (prágmata, “affairs, state affairs, public business, etc.”), from πράσσω (prássō, “to do”) (whence English practical).

Webster’s 1913

  1. adjective Of or pertaining to business or to affairs; of the nature of business; practical; material; businesslike in habit or manner.
  2. adjective Busy; specifically, busy in an objectionable way; officious; fussy and positive; meddlesome. "Pragmatical officers of justice." Sir W. Scott.
  3. noun One skilled in affairs.
  4. noun A solemn public ordinance or decree.

Etymology [L. pragmaticus busy, active, skilled in business, especially in law and state affairs, systematic, Gr. pragmatique. See Practical.]

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