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.

---

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

---

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

Etymology

Origin of vocalize

First recorded in 1660–70; vocal + -ize

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

This would require your brother-in-law or his wife to vocalize a different desire, which would be quite bold.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 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

The summaries don’t necessarily pick up on nonverbal cues or thoughts Arzubi might not want to vocalize.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2023

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

The choice to focus on her father’s experience “really vocalizes the fact American history is family history, is Black history,” Ms. Barnette said.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023

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

The opening is an awakening, with group vocalized rhythms, but that is something only a tabla player can really pull off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025

The lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and 20 congressional Democrats, vocalized their disappointment in a scathing letter signed last Sunday.

From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2025

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

From Washington Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

Because the bats spend so much time huddled together and fly so quickly, it can be hard to identify them or figure out which bat vocalized.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 16, 2023

More of the crowd was awake now, and many of them vocalized their support with claps and cheers.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

"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

I wouldn’t pay to hear her read the proverbial phone book, but I might shell out to hear her sing it, while cracking jokes in between vocalizing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 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