vocality

[ voh-kal-i-tee ]

noun

1. the fact of being related to, uttered with, or suggestive of the human voice:

   Telemann’s oboe concertos explore the vocality of the instrument through a number of movements in recitative, arioso, and aria style.

2. use of the voice as an aspect of human cultural and social activity; speech or singing:

   Vocality is one of the greatest gifts in our possession.

3. the fact or quality of having a voice of a unique or particular character; a particular way of speaking or singing:

   The ethereal quality of the film score is reinforced by the angelic vocality of the singer.

4. Sometimes vo·cal·ness []. the fact or quality of being able or inclined to express oneself in words:

   There are a number of ways you can encourage your child’s vocality and help coax the words out.

5. Phonetics.
   1. the fact or quality of being a vowel or like a vowel:

      Determining the vocality of the second element in these Lithuanian diphthongs is key for the question of syllable structure.

   2. (of a consonant) the fact or quality of being voiced, or involving vibration of the vocal cords:

      Every consonant, made with or without vocality, derives its character from obstructive action by the organs of the mouth.

Other Words From

• non·vo·cal·i·ty noun
• non·vo·cal·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vocality¹

vocal ( def ) + -ity ( def )

Example Sentences

There’s a confessional quality to this number, not only because members of the group co-wrote it — the band co-wrote the entire album — but because BTS’s gorgeous vocals are often the melodic equivalent of an ASMR session.

From Vox

These alterations include the loss of a gene involved in the development of the vocal tract, possibly influencing passerines’ songs.

From Science News

He’s a vocal supporter of the second amendment and, as he told the New York Times in 2015, he sometimes carries a gun because he has an office in “a questionable part of town.”

From Eater

Citing rising coronavirus cases nationwide and in the Washington area — as well as what they call insufficient safety measures — some vocal teachers’ associations have urged school officials to keep classes online for the rest of the academic year.

From Washington Post

Gloria, long regarded as a champion of transit – although he supported a 2016 tax measure that included freeway projects and was a far cry from Ikhrata’s vision – has been a vocal supporter of the new plan.

From Voice of San Diego

The exercises for the radical stress should be first aspirated, then repeated with full vocality.

From Project Gutenberg

Impure vocality, it is true, has its own appropriate use, in the representation of certain emotional states of the mind.

From Project Gutenberg

Should any breath be spent in aspiration, or in hissing, or in guttural enunciation, the vocality is said to be impure.

From Project Gutenberg

This, pitched on a flat and haughty level of vocality, was her method of opening the conversation.

From Project Gutenberg

Somehow that awful vocality and the hardly less agonizing accompaniment had to be paid for.

From Project Gutenberg