Home › Glossary › Letter B

brier-torn

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

Brier-torn describes something scratched, snagged, or ripped by briers—thorny wild shrubs—evoking rough travel, neglected landscapes, or physical hardship.

Detailed Definition
This compound adjective describes clothing damaged by thorny plants. It is a vivid rural expression rather than everyday modern vocabulary, and it fits the poem’s farm setting.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Maud forgot her brier-torn gown” makes the garment visibly snagged by thorny briars; brier-torn sleeves show a journey through rough country; the brier-torn hedge becomes both obstacle and evidence of escape; its hyphen joins plant and damage into one compressed image
Additional Notes
The hyphenated adjective “brier-torn” is a specialized descriptive word that readers may need to unpack from the context.; Found in the poem, Maud Muller by John Greenleaf Whittier
Also Known As
thorny bramble-torn wild rugged
Skip to main content