Home › Glossary › Letter G

gargling

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

Making a rough, bubbling sound in the throat. Here it suggests the sound of blood in the lungs.

Detailed Definition
The word is familiar in ordinary speech, but Owen uses it in a brutal, bodily way that may still make readers pause. It helps create an aural image of choking and internal injury rather than ordinary speech or water sounds.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs” makes gargling a harsh, involuntary sound; The verb imitates choking and turns breath into horror; “The drain gargled after rain” transfers the bodily sound to landscape; A contemporary line: “The engine gargled, then fell silent.”
Additional Notes
Although known in general, the word is used here in a grim, specialized bodily sense that stands out in the quoted line.; Found in the poem, Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen
Also Known As
gurgling bubbling gargling sound liquid murmur
Skip to main content