oral

[ awr-uh l, ohr- ]

/ ˈɔr əl, ˈoʊr- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR oral ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

uttered by the mouth; spoken: oral testimony.

of, using, or transmitted by speech: oral methods of language teaching; oral traditions.

of, relating to, or involving the mouth: the oral cavity.

done, taken, or administered through the mouth: an oral dose of medicine.

Phonetics. articulated with none of the voice issuing through the nose, as the normal English vowels and the consonants b and v.

Psychoanalysis.

of or relating to the earliest phase of infantile psychosexual development, lasting from birth to one year of age or longer, during which pleasure is obtained from eating, sucking, and biting.
of or relating to the sublimation of feelings experienced during the oral stage of childhood: oral anxiety.
of or relating to gratification by stimulation of the lips or membranes of the mouth, as in sucking, eating, or talking

Zoology. pertaining to that surface of polyps and marine animals that contains the mouth and tentacles.

noun

an oral examination in a school, college, or university, given especially to a candidate for an advanced degree.

RELATED WORDS

personally, spoken

Nearby words

Origin of oral

1615–25; < Latin ōr- (stem of ōs) mouth (cognate with Sanskrit āsya) + -al¹

Related forms

o·ral·i·ty, nouno·ral·ly, adverbnon·o·ral, adjectivenon·o·ral·ly, adverb

post·o·ral, adjectivesub·o·ral, adjectiveun·o·ral, adjectiveun·o·ral·ly, adverb

Can be confusedoral aural

Usage note

1. See verbal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for orally

For example, A orally promises to work for B as sales agent for three years.
Cyclopedia of Commerce, Accountancy, Business Administration, v. 3|Various
However, since this is not a screens-down inquiry, I'll give you—orally, at least—the benefit of the doubt.
The Galaxy Primes|Edward Elmer Smith
He instructed them orally five hours a day, till they were eager for astronomy, history, and biography.
Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous|Sarah K. Bolton
He gave me a written statement saying something along the line of what I have said he mentioned to me orally.
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

You may remember that the same cause, as I explained to you orally, prevented my delivering them to you in person.
Military Reminiscences of the Civil War V2|Jacob Dolson Cox

British Dictionary definitions for orally

oral

/ (ˈɔːrəl, ˈɒrəl) /

adjective

spoken or verbalan oral agreement

relating to, affecting, or for use in the mouthan oral thermometer

of or relating to the surface of an animal, such as a jellyfish, on which the mouth is situated

denoting a drug to be taken by mouthan oral contraceptive Compare parenteral

of, relating to, or using spoken words

phonetics pronounced with the soft palate in a raised position completely closing the nasal cavity and allowing air to pass out only through the mouth

psychoanal

relating to a stage of psychosexual development during which the child's interest is concentrated on the mouth
denoting personality traits, such as dependence, selfishness, and aggression, resulting from fixation at the oral stageCompare anal (def. 2), genital (def. 2), phallic (def. 2)

noun

an examination in which the questions and answers are spoken rather than written

Derived Formsorally, adverb

Word Origin for oral

C17: from Late Latin orālis, from Latin ōs face

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for orally