Home › Glossary › Letter E

exhale

Verb
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

To breathe out, expelling air from the lungs; it can also mean to release vapor, scent, sound, or emotion in vivid figurative language.

Detailed Definition
Exhale is the opposite of inhale and is used in descriptions of breathing or calm physical rhythm. In this poem it helps create a meditative, bodily connection to the sea.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Inhale, exhale, like the ocean’s swell” makes breathing rhythmic; “The pines exhale their resin after rain”; “At dawn the river seems to exhale mist”; “She exhaled one name into the cold”
Additional Notes
The word "exhale" in "Inhale, exhale, like the ocean's swell" is a specialized breathing term that some readers may want to confirm.; Found in the poem, Ocean's Pulse by Richard
Also Known As
breathe out release exhalation let go
Skip to main content