vocalize

American  

[voh-kuh-lahyz] / ˈvoʊ kəˌlaɪz /

especially British, vocalise

verb (used with object)

• vocalizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• vocalized,
  past participle,  past
• vocalizing
  present participle

1. to make vocal; utter; articulate; sing.

2. to endow with a voice; cause to utter.

3. Phonetics.

   1. to voice.

   2. to change into a vowel (contrasted with consonantalize).

4. (of Hebrew, Arabic, and other writing systems that do not usually indicate vowels) to furnish with vowels or vowel points.

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verb (used without object)

• vocalizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• vocalized,
  past participle,  past
• vocalizing
  present participle

1. to use the voice, as in speech or song.

2. to sing without uttering words, especially to warm up the voice, practice vowel sounds, etc., before a performance.

3. to sing scales, arpeggios, trills, or the like, usually to a solmization syllable or a vowel sound.

4. Phonetics. to become changed into a vowel.

vocalize British  

/ ˈvəʊkəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to express with or use the voice; articulate (a speech, song, etc)

2. (tr) to make vocal or articulate

3. (tr) phonetics

   1. to articulate (a speech sound) with voice

   2. to change (a consonant) into a vowel

4. another word for vowelize

5. (intr) to sing a melody on a vowel, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misvocalization
  noun
• nonvocalization
  noun
• vocalization
  noun
• vocalizer
  noun
• subvocalize
  verb
• unvocalized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• vocalizing
  present
• vocalized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• vocalize
  simple
• vocalizes
  simple
• have vocalized
  perfect
• has vocalized
  perfect
• am vocalizing
  progressive
• are vocalizing
  progressive
• is vocalizing
  progressive
• have been vocalizing
  perfect progressive
• has been vocalizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• vocalized
  simple
• had vocalized
  perfect
• was vocalizing
  progressive
• were vocalizing
  progressive
• had been vocalizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will vocalize
  simple
• will have vocalized
  perfect
• will be vocalizing
  progressive
• will have been vocalizing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of vocalize

First recorded in 1660–70; vocal + -ize

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Explanation

When you speak, sing, or utter any kind of sound, you vocalize. A tiny baby can only vocalize gurgles and coos, but by the time she's three or four, she'll vocalize all kinds of opinions. Vocalize literally means to make a noise using your voice — in fact, vocalize is rooted in the Latin root word for "voice," vox. It's nearly a synonym for verbalize, "put into words," except that when you vocalize you may speak using words or you may merely make noises. So while your dog is smart enough to vocalize a response when you say, "Speak," he's still not smart enough to verbalize.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vocalize vocalizes vocalized vocalizing

Either way, you’ll need to vocalize some boundaries, but I’d go about it differently depending on who this directive is coming from.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

They also vocalize to tell their chicks they are back at the nest with food and, seemingly, to cheer on their babies when they’re learning to fly.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2024

“So, I went up on my medicine and I see my therapist. I try to see her every Wednesday, and I try to vocalize a lot when I’m feeling overwhelmed.”

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2024

“It’s an outlet for some kids to be able to outwardly express and vocalize something that’s bothering them,” she said.

From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2024

We miss him terribly and Geak, being so young, is the only one able to vocalize our loneliness, by continuing to ask for Pa. I am afraid for Geak.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

At one point, Tom vocalizes what the audience is asking, which is, "Why do you keep doing this?"

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2023

Eassy joins in and vocalizes, her powerful voice hinting at defiance and struggle as the dancers form a tableaux, singing in a call-and-response pattern; they crack their knuckles and cross their arms.

From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2022

It’s a tale of sound; the song of a solitary whale that vocalizes at a unique frequency, 52 Hertz, that no other whale—as the story goes—can seemingly understand.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 28, 2021

“And I believe the Board of Governors would benefit from having somebody who is aware of these issues and vocalizes them in their deliberations.”

From Washington Post ● Nov. 17, 2020

In the former she vocalizes freely above the lines for many bars, and in one passage takes the astonishing note F in alt. with perfect intonation.

From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. V, October, 1850, Volume I. by

It started with a blowup with contestant Ace Greene after he vocalized his discomfort with Espinal touching him and using terms of endearment, in particular the word “babe.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2025

These vocalizations agitated Rani, who circled and vocalized in a brief burst before collapsing.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

Biden had previously vocalized his concerns to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call last week.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2023

At the press opening for the Metropolitan Museum’s beyond-beautiful “Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 B.C.E.-400 C.E.,” five red-robed monks chanted Pali blessings, the vocalized equivalent of oceanic silence.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2023

Kendra realized the problem before Seth vocalized it.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

“Invisible House,” running about 15 minutes, includes no singers, unless one counts the vocalizing expected of various players at points in the score.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

"It's reacting, it has both eyes open, it's vocalizing, but it's incredibly uncertain and it's scared," he said.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

It wasn’t until recent weeks that people began really vocalizing their animosity.

From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2026

Hundreds of billions of dollars were wiped from public markets after prominent CEOs and analysts started publicly vocalizing concerns about an AI bubble.

From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025

Still, decisions about crescendos and decrescendos, tempo, and score reading have to be made, but there are endless possibilities for vocalizing and playing these child-centered compositions.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

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