pronounce

[ pruh-nouns ]

/ prəˈnaʊns /

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See synonyms for: pronounce / pronounced on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), pro·nounced, pro·nounc·ing.

to enunciate or articulate (sounds, words, sentences, etc.).

to utter or sound in a particular manner in speaking: He pronounces his words indistinctly.

to utter or articulate in the accepted or correct manner: I can't pronounce this word.

to declare (a person or thing) to be as specified: She pronounced it the best salmon she had ever tasted.

to utter or deliver formally or solemnly: to pronounce sentence.

to announce authoritatively or officially: The judge pronounced the defendant guilty.

to indicate the pronunciation of (words) by providing a phonetic transcription: This dictionary pronounces most of the words entered.

verb (used without object), pro·nounced, pro·nounc·ing.

to pronounce words, phrases, etc.

to make a statement or assertion, especially an authoritative statement (often followed by on): He was required to pronounce on the findings of his research.

to give an opinion or decision (usually followed by on): to pronounce on an important matter.

to indicate the pronunciation of words: a spelling book that pronounces.

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Origin of pronounce

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pronouncen, from Middle French prononcier, from Latin prōnūntiāre “to proclaim, announce, recite, utter”; see pro-¹, announce

OTHER WORDS FROM pronounce

pro·nounce·a·ble, adjectivepro·nounce·a·ble·ness, nounpro·nounc·er, nounpre·pro·nounce, verb (used with object), pre·pro·nounced, pre·pro·nounc·ing.

un·pro·nounce·a·ble, adjectiveun·pro·nounc·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pronounce

announce, enunciate, pronounce

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

How to use pronounce in a sentence

In Brookes' and White's Selwyn appeared with a twofold fame, that of a pronouncer of bon-mots and that of a lover of horrors.
The Wits and Beaux of Society|Grace & Philip Wharton
He put away his stethoscope and smiled at Doggie, who regarded him blankly as the pronouncer of a doom.
The Rough Road|William John Locke
The name of this officer is equivalent to the pronouncer of doom or sentence.
The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Volume 2, Illustrated|Sir Walter Scott
Another name for judge was Dempster, the pronouncer of doom, a title which still exists in the Isle of Man.
The Romance of Names|Ernest Weekley

He was the pronouncer who was not undertaking the way to have enough listen to every one.
Matisse Picasso and Gertrude Stein|Gertrude Stein

British Dictionary definitions for pronounce

pronounce

/ (prəˈnaʊns) /

verb

to utter or articulate (a sound or sequence of sounds)

(tr) to utter or articulate (sounds or words) in the correct way

(tr; may take a clause as object) to proclaim officially and solemnlyI now pronounce you man and wife

(when tr, may take a clause as object) to declare as one's judgmentto pronounce the death sentence upon someone

(tr) to make a phonetic transcription of (sounds or words)

Derived forms of pronounce

pronounceable, adjectivepronouncer, noun

Word Origin for pronounce

C14: from Latin prōnuntiāre to announce, from pro- 1 + nuntiāre to announce

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

pronounce

Origin of pronounce

OTHER WORDS FROM pronounce

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pronounce

Words related to pronounce

How to use pronounce in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pronounce

Derived forms of pronounce

Word Origin for pronounce