Forehead

Anatomy
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

The upper front part of the face above the eyes. It often suggests thought, worry, fever, dignity, or touch.

Detailed Definition
The forehead is a surface where inward states become visible: it furrows with worry, shines with sweat, and warms under a caring hand. In poetry, a kiss on the forehead may convey blessing, farewell, or tenderness without romantic urgency. It can also bear symbolic marks, crowns, dust, or wounds, linking thought to fate and status. By focusing on the forehead, a poet can show mental strain or gentleness through a single, highly legible bodily detail.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Shakespeare's Sonnet 29, the speaker's changing emotional state could be shown physically through a furrowed forehead; "A bead of rain rested on her forehead like a clear coin" uses the forehead as a small visual plane; "He pressed his forehead to the window" makes thought and longing physical; "The child's warm forehead told the mother what the thermometer confirmed" uses anatomy to convey concern and care
Additional Notes
A touched or furrowed forehead can reveal care, fever, worry, thought, blessing, or solemn dignity without direct explanation.
Also Known As
Brow Frons
Skip to main content