Home › Glossary › Letter A

antennae

Fauna
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Paired feelers on an insect or other arthropod. They help the creature sense its surroundings.

Detailed Definition
Antennae are the sensory appendages insects use to smell, touch, and detect movement. In a poem about becoming a bug, the word helps mark the speaker’s transformed body and insect identity.
Example
Example in poetry:
The moth lifts its antennae, reading perfume in the dark; Antennae are sensory organs that detect touch, vibration, and chemical signals; Her antennae, metaphorically raised, catch every change in the room; A radio tower's antennae turn the skyline into listening
Additional Notes
The word in the evidence is a specialized insect term, and many readers may not immediately know the plural form or its exact meaning.; Found in the poem, Bugging Out by Richard
Also Known As
feelers sensory appendages receptors
Skip to main content