vocal

[voh-kuhl]

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

5. vociferous, outspoken.

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

Examples from the Web for vocality

Historical Examples of vocality

Should any breath be spent in aspiration, or in hissing, or in guttural enunciation, the vocality is said to be impure.
The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886
Ministry of Education
The sinewy pressure of Average Jones' wrist smothered further attempts at vocality to a gurgle.
Average Jones
Samuel Hopkins Adams
This, pitched on a flat and haughty level of vocality, was her method of opening the conversation.
Little Miss Grouch
Samuel Hopkins Adams
But the consonants must, of course, be distinctly articulated and not be drowned in the vocality.
The Voice and Spiritual Education
Hiram Corson
I sat down and he put the bit of vocality in my arms, and then hastened after its dinner.
Medoline Selwyn's Work
Mrs. J. J. Colter

British Dictionary definitions for vocality

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 vocality

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.

vocality in Medicine

vocal

[vō′kəl]

adj.

Of or relating to the voice.

Capable of emitting sound or speech.