phonetic
[ fuh-net-ik ]
/ fəˈnɛt ɪk /
Save This Word!
adjective
Also pho·net·i·cal [fuh-net-i-kuhl]. /fəˈnɛt ɪ kəl/. of or relating to speech sounds, their production, or their transcription in written symbols.
corresponding to pronunciation: phonetic transcription.
agreeing with pronunciation: phonetic spelling.
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.
noun
(in Chinese writing) a written element that represents a sound and is used in combination with a radical to form a character.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
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
OTHER WORDS FROM phonetic
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH phonetic
fanatic, phoneticDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use phonetic in a sentence
In some essays the writer makes extensive use of phonetical spelling.
A Collection of Essays and Fugitiv Writings|Noah Webster
British Dictionary definitions for phonetic
phonetic
/ (fəˈnɛtɪk) /
adjective
of or relating to phonetics
denoting any perceptible distinction between one speech sound and another, irrespective of whether the sounds are phonemes or allophonesCompare phonemic (def. 2)
conforming to pronunciationphonetic spelling
Derived forms of phonetic
phonetically, adverbWord Origin for phonetic
C19: from New Latin phōnēticus, from Greek phōnētikos, from phōnein to make sounds, speak
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