phonetic

American  

[fuh-net-ik] / fəˈnɛt ɪk /

adjective

1. Also phonetical of or relating to speech sounds, their production, or their transcription in written symbols.

2. corresponding to pronunciation.

   phonetic transcription.

3. agreeing with pronunciation.

   phonetic spelling.

4. concerning or involving the discrimination of nondistinctive elements of a language. In English, certain phonological features, as length and aspiration, are phonetic but not phonemic.

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noun

1. (in Chinese writing) a written element that represents a sound and is used in combination with a radical to form a character.

phonetic British  

/ fəˈnɛtɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to phonetics

2. denoting any perceptible distinction between one speech sound and another, irrespective of whether the sounds are phonemes or allophones Compare phonemic

3. conforming to pronunciation

   phonetic spelling

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Other Word Forms

• nonphonetic
  adjective
• nonphonetical
  adjective
• phonetically
  adverb
• unphonetic
  adjective
• unphonetical
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of phonetic

First recorded in 1820–30; from New Latin phōnēticus, from Greek phōnētikós “vocal,” equivalent to phōnēt(ós) “to be spoken” (verbid of phōneîn “to speak”) + -ikos adjective suffix; see -ic

Explanation

Phonetic describes the way that spoken words sound. To sound out an unfamiliar word, you break it into its phonetic parts, saying each in the order in which it appears. When you use the word phonetic, you're talking about pronunciation, or the way language sounds. When you learn how to speak Chinese, for example, you're often taught both traditional Chinese characters and a phonetic alphabet, which helps people learn to correctly pronounce Chinese words. The Greek word for sound or voice is phone, and it's the root of phonetic, which was first used in the early 1800s.

Example Sentences

Phonetic information -- the smallest sound elements of speech, typically represented by the alphabet -- is considered by many linguists to be the foundation of language.

From Science Daily • Dec. 1, 2023

When Bay was studying acting, she said she’d nerd out during the classes where they learned the International Phonetic Alphabet.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2023

Phonetic transcriptions of French names into Bulgarian are woefully inaccurate.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 5, 2018

The International Police Association, the International Psychoanalytical Association and the International Phonetic Alphabet all have their ways of getting you to talk.

From Washington Post • Jan. 6, 2016

“We’re playing Phonetic, and I’m winning this time,” I say confidently, though I have no chance of winning.

From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon