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Cheek

Anatomy
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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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

The fleshy side of the face below the eye. In poetry, it can signify blush, tears, youth, touch, or emotional exposure.

Detailed Definition
Cheeks record feeling in visible ways: they flush with embarrassment, pale with shock, and carry tears downward from the eyes. A cheek pressed to a window, pillow, or another person's cheek can create closeness without requiring explanation. Poets may use hollow cheeks to suggest hunger or illness, and warm cheeks to evoke vitality or desire. Because cheeks are readily touched and seen, they make emotional states appear on the body's surface with great immediacy.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, the beloved's features are described without idealized exaggeration, and the cheek can likewise resist conventional beauty language; "A tear cooled the salt road of her cheek" turns the cheek into a surface shaped by emotion; "Apple light gathered in the child's cheeks" uses color to suggest health and vitality; "He kissed her cheek goodbye at the station" makes the cheek a precise site of restrained affection; "The winter wind reddened his cheeks" uses the cheeks to show weather's immediate effect
Additional Notes
Cheeks readily show blushes, tears, kisses, and cold, making them effective for portraying youth, shame, tenderness, or grief.
Also Known As
Buccal Region Jowl
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