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phonetic

[ fuh-net-ik ]
/ fəˈnɛt ɪk /
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See synonyms for: phonetic / phonetics on Thesaurus.com

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.
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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, phonetic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use phonetic in a sentence

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, adverb

Word 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
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