adenoidal

American  

[ad-n-oid-l] / ˌæd nˈɔɪd l /

adjective

1. of or relating to the adenoids; adenoid.

2. having the adenoids enlarged, especially to a degree that interferes with normal breathing.

3. being characteristically pinched and nasal in tone quality.

   a high-pitched, adenoidal voice.

---

adenoidal British  

/ ˌædɪˈnɔɪdəl /

adjective

1. having the nasal tones or impaired breathing of one with enlarged adenoids

2. another word for adenoid

---

Etymology

Origin of adenoidal

First recorded in 1915–20; adenoid + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Shady’s adenoidal whine is nowhere to be found on this record, replaced with a sinister, very adult scowl.

From Salon • Aug. 30, 2024

That adenoidal falsetto — courtesy of the comic performer Jenny Slate — is a lot.

From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2022

“If you tell a lay person” that a child has “mandibular hypoplasia, or maxillary deficiency, or adenoidal facies — it sounds bad,” said Vig.

From Slate • Jul. 27, 2020

Abbott is fifty-seven, with thinning gray hair, a warm, confident demeanor, and an adenoidal vocal quality, like a man powering through a cold.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 16, 2019

He suffered from an adenoidal problem that made his words bleed into each other through a humming sound in his nostrils.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan