visible speech

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noun Phonetics.

the representation in graphic or pictorial form of characteristics of speech, as by means of sound spectrograms.

the system of handwritten phonetic symbols invented by Melville Bell in 1867 to provide a visually comprehensible rendition of speech sounds.

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of visible speech

First recorded in 1850–55

Words nearby visible speech

visible, visible balance, visible horizon, visible radiation, visible spectrum, visible speech, Visigoth, Visine, vision, visional, visionary

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

How to use visible speech in a sentence

Those are troubling numbers, for unfettered speech is not incidental to a flourishing society.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There is no such thing as speech so hateful or offensive it somehow “justifies” or “legitimizes” the use of violence.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We need to recover and grow the idea that the proper answer to bad speech is more and better speech.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The simple, awful truth is that free speech has never been particularly popular in America.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Alessandro turned a grateful look on Ramona as he translated this speech, so in unison with Indian modes of thought and feeling.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Genoa has but recently and partially felt the new impulse, yet even here the march of improvement is visible.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
And so this is why the clever performer cannot reproduce the effect of a speech of Demosthenes or Daniel Webster.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
A lateen sail was visible in the direction of Cat Island, and others to the south seemed almost motionless in the far distance.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
He saw with evident pleasure the outward and visible signs of the old earl's immense wealth.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills

British Dictionary definitions for visible speech

visible speech

noun

a system of phonetic notation invented by Alexander Melville Bell (1819–1905) that utilized symbols based on the schematic representation of the articulations used for each speech sound

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