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severance

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

The act of cutting off, dividing, or breaking apart; often used in verse to signify the painful end of a relationship or bond.

Detailed Definition
Severance means the act or state of being cut off or separated. In this poem it carries emotional force, suggesting a relationship that has been divided.
Example
Example in poetry:
“And both, from severance, winning equal smart” uses severance for painful separation; Donne’s “A Valediction” treats parting as a refined emotional severance; “The severance of river and sea left salt in the marsh” makes it physical; Contemporary-style example: “After severance, each carried half the map”
Additional Notes
The noun is somewhat specialized and literary here, and readers may pause over its more formal sense of separation.; Found in the poem, Estrangement by William Watson
Also Known As
parting separation division detachment
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