Basic Details
Word: Ivory
Part of Speech: Noun and adjective
Meaning: The hard, creamy-white material that elephant tusks are made of; also a creamy-white colour.
Synonyms: cream, off-white
How to Spell Ivory
Syllables: i - vo - ry
Tricky part: The ending is -ory, not -ery or -ary. The first letter i says its name.
Watch out for: ivery, ivary, ivorey
Memory tip: Ivory and story both end in -ory: every ivory carving in a museum tells a story.
Idioms and Phrases
- ivory tower: A place or state where someone is cut off from the problems of ordinary life. Example: "The minister was told to leave his ivory tower and ride a local bus for a day."
Usage Examples
Example 1: The bride's mother wore an ivory silk saree.
Example 2: Hunting elephants for their ivory is a serious crime.
Example 3: The old piano had keys that had turned from ivory to yellow.
Fun Fact
International trade in elephant ivory was banned under the CITES agreement in 1989 to protect elephants from poachers.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word ivory as used in the sentence:
The walls of the new library were painted a soft ivory.
a) crimson
b) navy
c) cream
d) emerald
Show answer
c) cream. As a colour, ivory is a creamy white, very close to cream.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The museum has a carved yvroi chess set from Mysore.
a) ivory
b) every
c) ovary
d) irony
Show answer
a) ivory. The jumble has i, v, o, r and y, and each of the other words needs a letter that is not there.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word:
1. victary 2. mistery 3. ivory 4. factery
a) the hard creamy-white substance of elephant tusks
b) a building where goods are made
c) something strange that nobody can explain
d) success in a battle or contest
Show answer
a) the hard creamy-white substance of elephant tusks. Mystery begins with my and ends in -ery, while victory and factory share the -ory of ivory.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Ivory mainly comes from ____.
a) sea sand
b) goat hair
c) elephant tusks
d) tree bark
Show answer
c) elephant tusks
2. The informal phrase tickle the ivories means to ____.
a) play the piano
b) carve a statue
c) polish jewellery
d) tease an elephant
Show answer
a) play the piano
