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vocal

[voh-kuhl]
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or uttered with the voice: the vocal mechanism; vocal criticism.
  2. rendered by or intended for singing: vocal music.
  3. having a voice: A dog is a vocal, but not a verbal, being.
  4. giving forth sound with or as with a voice.
  5. inclined to express oneself in words, especially copiously or insistently: a vocal advocate of reform.
  6. Phonetics.
    1. vocalic(def 1).
    2. voiced.
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noun
  1. a vocal sound.
  2. a musical piece for a singer, usually with instrumental accompaniment.Compare instrumental(def 6).
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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

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5. vociferous, outspoken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

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

Historical Examples

  • 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
  1. of, relating to, or designed for the voicevocal music
  2. produced or delivered by the voicevocal noises
  3. connected with an attribute or the production of the voicevocal organs
  4. frequently disposed to outspoken speech, criticism, etca vocal minority
  5. full of sound or voicesa vocal assembly
  6. endowed with a voice
  7. eloquent or meaningful
  8. phonetics
    1. of or relating to a speech sound
    2. of or relating to a voiced speech sound, esp a vowel
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noun
  1. a piece of jazz or pop music that is sung
  2. a performance of such a piece of music
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Derived Formsvocality (vəʊˈkælɪtɪ), nounvocally, adverb

Word Origin

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
vocal in Medicine

vocal

(vō′kəl)
adj.
  1. Of or relating to the voice.
  2. Capable of emitting sound or speech.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.