Basic Details
Word: Philosophy
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The study of big ideas about truth, knowledge and how to live; also a person's own set of beliefs about life.
Synonyms: thinking, outlook, beliefs
How to Spell Philosophy
Syllables: phi - los - o - phy
Tricky part: The ending is phy, not fy, and the start is phi, not phy. The middle vowels are both o: los-o.
Watch out for: philosofy, phylosophy, philosiphy, philosphy
Memory tip: Two halves, two ph's: PHIlo and soPHY. The y at the end makes the ee sound.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Mr Menon's philosophy of teaching is simple: let students ask as many questions as they like.
Example 2: My sister wants to study philosophy at university.
Example 3: Ancient Indian philosophy has six main schools of thought, including Yoga and Nyaya.
Fun Fact
The PhD degree stands for Doctor of Philosophy, even when it is earned in chemistry, history or engineering.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
phil_s_phy
a) o, o
b) o, a
c) e, o
d) a, o
Show answer
a) o, o. Both gaps are o, as you hear in phi-LOS-o-phy.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word philosophy as used in the sentence:
Her philosophy is easy to state: work hard and be kind to everyone you meet.
a) puzzle
b) hobby
c) outlook
d) recipe
Show answer
c) outlook. Here philosophy means her way of looking at life, which is an outlook.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence and choose the word they make:
Kavya studied yshlpoipho at college before she became a teacher.
a) philosophy
b) physiology
c) philology
d) psychology
Show answer
a) philosophy. Each of the other three needs a g, and there is no g among the jumbled letters.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Philosophy is mainly the study of ____.
a) plants, seeds and how they grow
b) numbers, shapes and their patterns
c) truth, knowledge and how to live
d) rocks, minerals and the earth's crust
Show answer
c) truth, knowledge and how to live
2. In the word philosophy, each ph is pronounced like the letter ____.
a) v
b) h
c) f
d) p
Show answer
c) f
