auditory

American  

[aw-di-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee-] / ˈɔ dɪˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i- /

adjective

1. Anatomy, Physiology. pertaining to hearing, to the sense of hearing, or to the organs of hearing.

2. perceived through or resulting from the sense of hearing.

   auditory hallucinations.

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noun

Archaic.

• auditories
  plural

1. an assembly of hearers; audience.

2. an auditorium, especially the nave of a church.

auditory British  

/ ˈɔːdɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to hearing, the sense of hearing, or the organs of hearing

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noun

1. an archaic word for audience auditorium

auditory Scientific  

/ ô′dĭ-tôr′ē /

1. Relating to or involving the organs or sense of hearing.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• postauditory
  adjective
• preauditory
  adjective
• auditorially
  adverb
• auditorily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• auditories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of auditory

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin audītōrius relating to hearing. See auditor, -tory ¹

Explanation

If you describe something as auditory, it is related to the process of hearing. If someone says "Surrender Dorothy" and you hear "Where's the laundry," you have an auditory problem. The word auditory is based on the Latin word audire, meaning to hear. If you have an auditory processing disorder, you may have trouble discerning conversation in a noisy room, or hear a ringing sound at all times. Some teachers think there's something wrong with their students' auditory capacity, but actually they're just being ignored.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

auditory auditories

Mr. James does not simply reproduce the island’s singular patois; he uses it to create abrasive auditory rhythms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The next time I sit through another auditory gauntlet on the number 29, I will keep that in mind.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Karen first found out about hearing loss when Klugo’s older sister failed a routine newborn auditory test.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

The computational model of a neural network mimicked the owl’s auditory map—the flow of auditory information—which helped Rumelhart derive a theory about how the owl’s system developed and worked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

“I’m speaking very loudly, and you’re only three feet away. The elementary physics of sound waves assures me that you are receiving my auditory signals.”

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

These Lectures, in their original form, were delivered at Geneva, and afterwards at Lausanne, before two auditories which together numbered about two thousand five hundred men.

From The Heavenly Father Lectures on Modern Atheism by Henry Downton

It cannot be said that much harm has resulted from the full liberty permitted him, or that neglect on his part has impaired the generally attractive aspect of our theatrical auditories.

From A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character by Dutton Cook

But the cloister-pupil was not thinking of the cool auditories of his monastery.

From Ekkehard. Vol. II (of II). A Tale of the Tenth Century by Joseph Victor von Scheffel

Of this, great complaints were made by honest men: and some of the best and most conscientious preachers reproved it in the greatest auditories, as at Paul’s Cross, and before the King himself.

From The Influence and Development of English Gilds As Illustrated by the History of the Craft Gilds of Shrewsbury by Francis Aiden Hibbert

Let us, then, contemplate a little closer the different kinds of concerts—their features and their character—their performers and their auditories.

From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 436 Volume 17, New Series, May 8, 1852 by Robert Chambers

Related Words

• audible
• aural