uvular

American  

[yoo-vyuh-ler] / ˈyu vyə lər /

adjective

1. of or relating to the uvula.

2. Phonetics. articulated with the back of the tongue held close to or touching the uvula, as in the r- sound of Parisian French.

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noun

1. Phonetics. a uvular sound.

uvular British  

/ ˈjuːvjʊlə /

adjective

1. of or relating to the uvula

2. phonetics articulated with the uvula and the back of the tongue, such as the (r) sound of Parisian French

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noun

1. a uvular consonant

Other Word Forms

• uvularly adverb

Etymology

Origin of uvular

From the New Latin word ūvulāris, dating back to 1700–10. See uvula, -ar ¹

Example Sentences

But there’s Bradley Cooper, nailing his uvular fricatives on the evening news.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 1, 2016

It lies in the middle of nowhere: 8,000 miles from the U.S., part of a uvular peninsula jutting into the South China Sea.

From Time Magazine Archive

Laleh grew up with the ear for it—the uvular fricatives and alveolar trills that I could never get quite right.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

In this way the child produces three kinds of r-sounds—the labial, the uvular, and this bilateral-lingual.

From The Mind of the Child, Part II The Development of the Intellect, International Education Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX. by Preyer, William T.

In the eighth and ninth weeks, the two utterances, örrö, arra, became frequent, the ö and a being pure and the r uvular.

From The Mind of the Child, Part II The Development of the Intellect, International Education Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX. by Preyer, William T.