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Feart

Dialect
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

Afraid or frightened; the Scots past participle of "fear" used as an adjective.

Detailed Definition
"Feart" is more visceral and immediate than "afraid," its clipped consonants conveying the sudden, physical quality of fear. It appears in Scots poetry of all periods to describe human and animal timidity, confrontation with the unknown, and the courage required to overcome terror. Burns uses related forms to examine vulnerability, and modern Scots poets use "feart" to explore psychological states with characteristic directness. The word refuses euphemism, naming the experience of fear with blunt, honest precision.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Feart" means afraid, frightened, or scared; Burns implies the state frequently even if not always using this word; A poet might write: "He stood feart at the forest edge — / the darkness held an unheard pledge." for gothic effect; "She wasnae feart of wind or wave — / it was the silence made her crave." explores what truly frightens; "The bairn was feart of the auld black craw / that perched on the gate wi' its gaping maw." uses natural imagery for childhood fear; "To be feart is tae be alive — / fear is how the cautious thrive." reframes fear as necessary instinct; "He was feart tae love, feart tae lose, / feart of the joy he'd have tae choose." maps paralysis through repeated use; "Even heroes kent the feart — / it lived right next tae a brave heart." normalises fear alongside courage
Additional Notes
Feart occupies a rich psychological space in Scots — it is not the formal, composed "afraid" of Standard English but something more immediate, more childlike, more honest. To be "feart" is to feel fear in the belly, viscerally and immediately. Burns uses it in "Address to the Deil" and elsewhere to humanise fear, making it a shared, understandable condition rather than a moral failing. In contemporary Scottish poetry and drama, "feart" is frequently used to describe political timidity or social cowardice — being "feart" to speak, to act, to commit — giving it a sharp contemporary edge. Students should note how its tone shifts between sympathy and challenge depending on context.
Also Known As
Afraid Frightened Fearful
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