vocal

[voh-kuhl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vocal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, relating to, or uttered with the voice: the vocal mechanism; vocal criticism.

rendered by or intended for singing: vocal music.

having a voice: A dog is a vocal, but not a verbal, being.

giving forth sound with or as with a voice.

inclined to express oneself in words, especially copiously or insistently: a vocal advocate of reform.

Phonetics.

noun

a vocal sound.

a musical piece for a singer, usually with instrumental accompaniment.Compare instrumental(def 6).

Origin of vocal

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin vōcālis, equivalent to vōc- (stem of vōx) voice + -ālis -al¹

Related formsvo·cal·i·ty

[voh-kal-i-tee] /voʊˈkæl ɪ ti/, vo·cal·ness, nounvo·cal·ly, adverbnon·vo·cal, adjective, nounnon·vo·cal·ly, adverbnon·vo·cal·ness, nounnon·vo·cal·i·ty, noun

Synonyms for vocal

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vocal ON THESAURUS.COM

5. vociferous, outspoken.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for vocal

articulate, verbal, operatic, choral, outspoken, vociferous, eloquent, expressive, blunt, strident, forthright, singing, sonant, lyric, oral, vowel, sung, frank, round, free

Examples from the Web for vocal

Contemporary Examples of vocal

I ended up developing a blister on one of my vocal cords, so that kinda sucked.
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll
James Joiner
January 2, 2015
Jessen was named a Mormon bishop, but the appointment was met with vocal protests.
The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built
Michael Daly
December 12, 2014
Entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa is a vocal proponent of gender diversity.
Tech’s Male ‘Feminists’ Aren’t Helping
Cate Huston, Karen Catlin
December 8, 2014
One, from a short preview of her rehearsal performance, is that Williams certainly boasts the vocal chops to do the part justice.
The Cast of ‘Peter Pan Live!’ Knows You Hatewatched ‘The Sound of Music’
Kevin Fallon
December 2, 2014
Cooke describes Joplin as being “always on the prowl and vocal about it.”
Janis Joplin’s Kozmic Blues
William O’Connor
November 8, 2014

Historical Examples of vocal

Still the barytone, who was almost as fond of conversation as of what he termed "vocal."
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
He produced the lop-sided appearance of his laugh, but without making it vocal.
Alice Adams
Booth Tarkington
Toward evening there was vocal music, and the men sang in chorus.
The Downfall
Emile Zola
He wriggled and fought, but he was pinned and helpless, hands, feet and vocal organs.
Shavings
Joseph C. Lincoln
I believe I have a demon that inhabits my vocal cords upon occasion.
The Dominant Strain
Anna Chapin Ray

British Dictionary definitions for vocal

vocal

adjective

of, relating to, or designed for the voicevocal music

produced or delivered by the voicevocal noises

connected with an attribute or the production of the voicevocal organs

frequently disposed to outspoken speech, criticism, etca vocal minority

full of sound or voicesa vocal assembly

endowed with a voice

eloquent or meaningful

phonetics

of or relating to a speech sound
of or relating to a voiced speech sound, esp a vowel

noun

a piece of jazz or pop music that is sung

a performance of such a piece of music

Derived Formsvocality (vəʊˈkælɪtɪ), nounvocally, adverb

Word Origin for vocal

C14: from Latin vōcālis possessed of a voice, from vōx voice

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

Word Origin and History for vocal

adj.

late 14c., "spoken, oral," from Old French vocal, from Latin vocalis "sounding, sonorous, speaking," as a noun, "a vowel," from vox (genitive vocis) "voice" (see voice (n.)). In reference to music (as opposed to instrumental), first recorded 1580s; meaning "outspoken" first attested 1871. Vocal cords is from 1872; see cord.

vocal in Medicine

vocal

[vō′kəl]

adj.

Of or relating to the voice.

Capable of emitting sound or speech.