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infelicity

Noun
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

A noun referring to an instance of unhappiness, bad luck, or an inappropriate, awkward expression in speech or writing.

Detailed Definition
In older or literary English, infelicity can mean bad luck, unhappiness, or a lack of fitness. Here it gives the night a strangely formal, elevated tone in the phrase about the South, the past, and the day to come.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The South, the past, the day to be, / An ancient infelicity” means unhappiness, misfortune, or an unfortunate condition; “The cracked cup held the household’s small infelicity” makes sorrow tangible; “He called exile an infelicity, too mild a word for loss” shows how formal diction can understate pain; “In contemporary verse, infelicity may describe a flawed phrase, awkward event, or deeper sorrow”
Additional Notes
The word in the quoted line is a literary, less common noun that most readers would need to look up.; Found in the poem, A Thrush Before Dawn by Alice Meynell
Also Known As
misfortune unhappiness disappointment wretchedness
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