Home › Glossary › Letter A

ashen

Adjective
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

Pale gray in color, often associated with ashes or a lack of vitality.

Detailed Definition
'Ashen' describes a color reminiscent of ashes, suggesting lifelessness or desolation. In the poem, it evokes a sense of bleakness and despair, particularly in the imagery of 'ashen hills,' which symbolizes the remnants of something that once thrived but has now been reduced to a lifeless state. This term contributes to the overall mood of decay and loss present in the poem.
Example
Example in poetry:
"What ashen hills! what salted, shrunken lakes!" (color and desolation); "Ashen faces in the crowd" (pallor); "Ashen skies before the storm" (atmospheric); "Her cheeks were ashen with fear" (emotional); "The ashen remains of the fire" (destruction)
Additional Notes
The use of 'ashen' conveys a sense of desolation and loss, enhancing the poem's themes of decay.; Found in the poem, Dry-Point by Philip Arthur Larkin
Other Meanings of “ashen”
Also Known As
gray pallid ghostly faded dun
Skip to main content