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Pronunciations appear in parentheses after boldface entry words. If an entry word has a variant
and they have the same pronunciation, the pronunciation follows the variant. If the variant does
not have the same pronunciation, pronunciations follow the forms to which they apply. If a
word has more than one pronunciation, the first pronunciation is usually more common than
the other, but often they are equally common. Pronunciations are shown within an entry where
necessary.

S tre ss. Stress is the relative degree of emphasis with which a word's syllables are spoken. An
unmarked syllable has the weakest stress in the word. The strongest, or primary, stress is
indicated with a bold mark ( ' ). A lighter mark ( ' ) indicates a secondary level of stress. Words of
one syllable have no stress mark, because there is no other stress level to which the syllable is
compared.

P ro nunciatio n Symbo ls. The pronunciation symbols used in this Dictionary are shown below.
To the right of the symbols are words that show how the symbols are pronounced. The letters
whose sound corresponds to the symbols are shown in boldface.

The symbol (ə) is called schwa. It represents a vowel with the weakest level of stress in a word.
The schwa sound varies slightly according to the vowel it represents or the sounds around it:

a ·bun·da nt (ə-bŭn'dənt)

mo ·me nt (mō'mənt)

gra te ·ful (grāt'fəl)

civ·il (sĭv'əl)

pro ·po se (prə-pōz')

In English, the consonants l and n can be complete syllables. Examples of words with syllabic l
and n are ne edle (nēd'
nēd'l)
nēd' and sudden (sŭd'sŭd'n).
sŭd'

Fo re ign Symbo ls. Some foreign words use sounds that are not found in English. The (2)
sound is made by rounding the lips as though you were going to make the (ō) sound, but
instead you make an (ā) sound. The (ü) sound is made by rounding the lips as though you were
going to make the (ōō) sound, but instead you make an (ē) sound. The (KH) sound is like a (k),
but the air is forced through continuously, not stopped as with a (k). The (6) sound shows that
the vowel before it is nasalized — that is, air escapes through the nose (and the mouth) when
you say it.

Pronunci ati on Ke y

Symbol s Example s Symbols Example s

ā pa
at ô cau
aught,
au paw
aw
ā pay
ay ôr core
ore
âr care
are oi noi
oi se
ä fa
a ther ŏŏ too
ook
oo
b b ib
b ŏŏr lure
ure
ch church
ch ch ōō boo
oot
oo
d d eed
d ,mille
ed ou out
ou
ě pe
et p p op
p
ē be
ee r r oarr

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f f iff e, phase,
ph rough
gh s s auce
ce
g g ag
g sh ship,
sh dish
sh
h h at t t ight,
t, stoppe
ed
ĭ pii t th thin
th
ī pii e , by
y th this
th
îr de
e ar, de
e e r, pii e r ŭ cu
ut
j j udge
ge ûr urge,
ur te
e rm,
r fii rm,
r wor
ord,
or hee ard
ar
k k ick,
ck, cat,
c pique
que v v alve
ve
l l id, needll e w w ith
m m um
m y y es
n n o, sudde
en z z ebra, x ylem
ng thing
ng zh vis
s ion, pleas
s ure, garage
ge
ŏ po
ot ə a bout, ite
e m, edii ble, gallo
o p, circu
us
ō toe
oe ər butte
er

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