phonetically

American  

[fuh-net-ik-lee] / fəˈnɛt ɪk li /

adverb

1. involving the sounds, production, or transcription of speech.

   Many children learn to read phonetically, by sounding out the letters of each word.

   Peas and beans are linked phonetically not only by the repeated vowel sound, but also by the initial consonants—the sounds p and b are both produced in the same way.

2. according to the way something is pronounced.

   When he has to write words he doesn’t know, Jabez gets his point across by spelling phonetically.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonphonetically adverb
• unphonetically adverb

Etymology

Origin of phonetically

phonetic ( def. ) + -ally ( def. )

Example Sentences

She learnt her Malayalam lines phonetically with help from a language coach, followed position cues, absorbed emotional beats and adapted to the rhythm of a professional film set.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026

While the accent test is debatable, most non-English speakers tend to pronounce words phonetically, including Wilshire Boulevard, which many outside of L.A. pronounce as “Will-shai-ur” rather than “Wil-shur.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2024

Oliver joked that Vance learned how to laugh through reading about it in books or comics, "saw it written out phonetically, and intellectually understood the noises Archie made."

From Salon • Aug. 12, 2024

The first experiment involved the participants remembering words in order -- words that were similar, either phonetically or in spelling, e.g. "bought," "caught," "taut" and "wart."

From Science Daily • May 14, 2024

It wasn’t his looks that made him her much-needed dinner; it was his T-shirt, a classic from the Columbia University Hillel with the university’s name spelled out phonetically in Hebrew.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny