vocalize

American  

[voh-kuh-lahyz] / ˈvoʊ kəˌlaɪz /

especially British, vocalise

verb (used with object)

vocalized, vocalizing

1. to make vocal; utter; articulate; sing.

2. to endow with a voice; cause to utter.

3. Phonetics.

   1. to voice.

   2. to change into a vowel (consonantalize ).

4. (of Hebrew, Arabic, and other writing systems that do not usually indicate vowels) to furnish with vowels or vowel points.

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verb (used without object)

vocalized, vocalizing

1. to use the voice, as in speech or song.

2. to sing without uttering words, especially to warm up the voice, practice vowel sounds, etc., before a performance.

3. to sing scales, arpeggios, trills, or the like, usually to a solmization syllable or a vowel sound.

4. Phonetics. to become changed into a vowel.

vocalize British  

/ ˈvəʊkəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to express with or use the voice; articulate (a speech, song, etc)

2. (tr) to make vocal or articulate

3. (tr) phonetics

   1. to articulate (a speech sound) with voice

   2. to change (a consonant) into a vowel

4. another word for vowelize

5. (intr) to sing a melody on a vowel, etc

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Other Word Forms

• misvocalization noun
• nonvocalization noun
• subvocalize verb
• unvocalized adjective
• vocalization noun
• vocalizer noun

Etymology

Origin of vocalize

First recorded in 1660–70; vocal + -ize

Example Sentences

“I was really just asking people to be who they were, and somehow out of the breath we started vocalizing and doing experiments with how everyone sang and where we sounded good together.”

From Los Angeles Times

She mostly vocalizes, sometimes on the syllable “ah,” sometimes on “mm” and sometimes — most memorably at the end — on “shh.”

From New York Times

Humans have glorious ways of vocalizing discontent: We grumble, grouse, gripe, groan, moan.

From New York Times

Previously, including during testimony before lawmakers, Maryland judges have vocalized their concerns with the court transparency bill, citing budgetary burdens and worries that such a mandate could interfere with the integrity of court proceedings.

From Washington Post

That might have allowed ankylosaurs to vocalize in a way similar to birds, the researchers reported recently in the journal Communications Biology.

From New York Times