Thursday, May 03, 2007
pseudohermaphrodite-
One that possesses the internal reproductive organs of one sex while exhibiting some of the external physical characteristics of the opposite sex.
—Related forms
am·big·u·ous·ly, adverb
am·big·u·ous·ness, noun
—Synonyms 1. ambiguous, equivocal, cryptic, enigmatic describe conditions or statements not clear in meaning. ambiguous can refer to a statement, act, or attitude that is capable of two or more often contradictory interpretations, usually accidentally or unintentionally so: an ambiguous passage in the preamble. equivocal, usually applied to spoken as well as written language, also means susceptible of two or more interpretations, and it usually suggests a deliberate intent to mislead by avoiding clarity: saving face with an equivocal response to an embarrassing question. cryptic usually refers to intentional obscurity, especially in language, and often implies a private or hidden meaning but stresses resultant mystification or puzzlement: a cryptic remark that left us struggling to interpret his intention. enigmatic focuses on perplexity resulting from a mysterious or imponderable event or utterance, often one of great importance or deep significance: prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries. 3. dubious, vague, indeterminate, unclassifiable, anomalous. 4. puzzling, enigmatic, problematic.
—Antonyms 1. explicit. 3. certain. 4. clear, precise, unambiguous.
hom·o·nym·ic, adjective
hom·o·nym·i·ty, noun
—Synonyms 1, 2, 3. Homonym, homophone, and homograph designate words that are identical to other words in spelling or pronunciation, or both, while differing from them in meaning and usually in origin. Homophones are words that sound alike, whether or not they are spelled differently. The words pear “fruit,” pare “cut off,” and pair “two of a kind” are homophones that are different in spelling; bear “carry; support” and bear “animal” are homophones that are spelled alike. Homographs are words that are spelled identically but may or may not share a pronunciation. Spruce “tree” and spruce “neat” are homographs, but so are row /roʊ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[roh] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation “line” and row /raʊ/[rou] “fight” as well as sewer /ˈsuər/[soo-er] “conduit for waste” and sewer /ˈsoʊər/[soh-er] “person who sews.” Homonyms are, in the strictest sense, both homophones and homographs, alike in spelling and pronunciation, as the two forms bear. Homonym, however, is used more frequently than homophone, a technical term, when referring to words with the same pronunciation without regard to spelling. Homonym is also used as a synonym of homograph. Thus, it has taken on a broader scope than either of the other two terms and is often the term of choice in a nontechnical context.
2:40:00 AM
pseudohermaphrodite-