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Whiteout

Weather
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 condition in which snow, cloud, and light erase visible boundaries.

Detailed Definition
A whiteout occurs when snow-covered ground, falling snow, fog, and pale sky merge into a single field of whiteness. Depth, direction, and distance become difficult or impossible to judge. Poets can use whiteout as a metaphor for confusion, memory loss, emotional numbness, or a world emptied of ordinary distinctions. It is especially effective when a poem explores the limits of sight, certainty, and human control within an immense landscape.
Example
Example in poetry:
Whiteout swallowed the horizon until sky and snow became one blank page; A poet can use whiteout literally for dangerous low visibility or metaphorically for confusion and loss; In the whiteout, the speaker follows the sound of a bell because sight cannot be trusted; The blankness of a whiteout may symbolize memory failing to hold its shapes
Additional Notes
A whiteout occurs when snow and light erase the horizon and landmarks. It can suggest disorientation, emptiness, or blindness.
Also Known As
White-Out Whiteout Conditions
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