Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings
Vowels
| iː | see | ɪ | sit | e / ɛ | bed | æ | cat |
| ɑː | father | ɒ | hot (UK) | ɔː | law | ʊ | put |
| uː | too | ʌ | cup | ɜː | bird | ə | about |
| eɪ | day | aɪ | my | ɔɪ | boy | aʊ | now |
| əʊ / oʊ | go (UK / US) | ɪə | near | eə | hair | ʊə | tour |
Consonants that look unusual
| θ | thin | ð | this | ʃ | she | ʒ | measure |
| tʃ | church | dʒ | judge | ŋ | sing | j | yes |
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
Results for “reptitious”
- surreptitious adjectiveStealthy, furtive, well hidden, covert (especially movements).
- surreptitiously adverbIn a surreptitious manner; stealthily, furtively, secretly.
- abstraction nounThe act of abstracting, separating, withdrawing, or taking away; withdrawal; the state of being taken away.
- covert adjective, noun, proper noun(figuratively) Secret, surreptitious, concealed.
- crafty adjectiveSkillful at deceiving others.
- cunning adjective, noun, proper nounSly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
- dose noun, verbA measured portion of medicine taken at any one time.
- ducking nounAn instance of ducking down, e.g. to hide.
- eavesdrop verb, noun(ambitransitive) To hear (intentionally) a conversation one is not intended to hear; to listen in.
- foist verb, noun(transitive) To introduce or insert surreptitiously or without warrant.
- hop noun, verb, proper nounA short jump.
- infiltrate verb, noun(ambitransitive) To surreptitiously penetrate, enter or gain access to.
- insidiousness nounA surreptitious harmfulness, quality of entrapment, or treacherousness; the characteristic of being insidious.
- leak noun, verb, adjective, proper nounA crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.
- leak out verb(intransitive) To spill or pour out, because of a leak.
- low-key adjective, adverb(art, photography) Dark; characterized by dark tones and muted colors.
- on the side prepositional phraseSeparate from the main course of a meal.
- overlook noun, verbA vista or point that gives a view down toward something else.
- pap noun, verb, adjective, proper noun(uncountable) Food in the form of a soft paste, often a porridge, especially as given to very young children.
- psyop noun, verbAn instance of psyops: a psychological operation, usually of a clandestine sort.
- rathole noun, verbAn entrance to a living area or passageway used by mice or rats.
- slope noun, verb, adjective, adverbA surface that either inclines or declines in a regular manner from the perspective of an observer.
- smuggle verb(transitive, intransitive) To import or export, illicitly or by stealth, without paying lawful customs charges or duties
- snag noun, verbA stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch.
- sneak noun, verb, adjectiveOne who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information.
- spyware noun(Internet) Programs that surreptitiously monitor and report the actions of a computer user.
- steal verb, noun(transitive) To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it.
- stealth noun, verb, adjective(uncountable) The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect …
- subtlety nounThe quality of being scarcely noticeable or difficult to discern. (of things)
- switcheroo noun, verb(informal, Canada, US) A sneaky, unexpected, or clever swap or exchange.
- tail noun, verb, adjective, proper noun(anatomy) The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to their posterior and near the anus or cloaca.
- ullage noun, verb(wine) In a wine bottle, the empty space between the cork and the top of the wine.
- underhanded adjective, adverb, nounDone by moving the hand (and arm) from below.
- vampire bat nounAny of the three small bats of the subfamily Desmodontinae, native to Central and South America, which use their teeth to cut the skin of l…