vocal

[ voh-kuhl ]

/ ˈvoʊ kəl /

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See synonyms for: vocal / vocals 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).

OTHER WORDS FOR vocal

5 vociferous, outspoken.

See synonyms for vocal on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of vocal

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

OTHER WORDS FROM vocal

vo·cal·i·ty

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vocal in a sentence

Every other band I had been in had been pretty loud, you could never hear the vocals.
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll|James Joiner|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But damn, the music is catchy—a neo-soul aural assault of horns, electro swirls, yelps, funky basslines, and harmonized vocals.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More|Marlow Stern|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It starts off like any other Lana tune, replete with minor chords and humming, distorted vocals.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More|Marlow Stern|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You, too, will be zipping along to the angular guitars and zigzagging, herky-jerky vocals.
The 10 Best Albums of 2014: Taylor Swift, Sia, Run the Jewels, and More|Marlow Stern|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

As fluent in drug trade jargon as Martian, Future peppers his lyrics with interstellar imagery befitting of his far out vocals.
Future Makes Us Rethink Everything We Thought We Knew About Rap Artists|Luke Hopping|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sub-vocals, as ending or final consonants, are the most difficult of all to give their proper value and effect.
The Renaissance of the Vocal Art|Edmund Myer

British Dictionary definitions for vocal

vocal

/ (ˈvəʊkəl) /

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 forms of vocal

vocality (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

vocal

OTHER WORDS FOR vocal

Origin of vocal

OTHER WORDS FROM vocal

Words related to vocal

How to use vocal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vocal

Derived forms of vocal

Word Origin for vocal