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wistlessness

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 state of vague unawareness, forgetfulness, or dreamy oblivion; in poetry, wistlessness captures a drifting consciousness, detached from pressing concerns and submerged in a haze of inattention.

Detailed Definition
In Hardy’s phrase “wan wistlessness,” the word suggests the woman’s dissolved, indistinct existence after death. It conveys a fading beyond ordinary memory or recognition, rather than simple sadness.
Example
Example in poetry:
“You being ever dissolved to wan wistlessness” uses wistlessness for listless lack of interest or feeling; “After the news, a pale wistlessness filled the room” makes emotional numbness atmospheric; “Summer noon bred wistlessness among the bees” gives the noun a languid mood; “Not sorrow, but wistlessness held her still” distinguishes apathy from active grief
Additional Notes
“Wistlessness” is a rare literary noun, and the quoted phrase uses it to describe an obscure state of fading awareness.; Found in the poem, The Voice by Thomas Hardy
Also Known As
wistfulness longing yearning nostalgia
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