phonetic
adjective
pho·net·ic
| \ fə-ˈne-tik
\
\
Definition of phonetic
1
: representing the sounds and other phenomena of speech: such as
a
: constituting an alteration of ordinary spelling that better represents the spoken language, that employs only characters of the regular alphabet, and that is used in a context of conventional spelling
b
: representing speech sounds by means of symbols that have one value only
c
: employing for speech sounds more than the minimum number of symbols necessary to represent the significant differences in a speaker's speech
2a
: of or relating to spoken language or speech sounds
b
: of or relating to the science of phonetics
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Examples of phonetic in a Sentence
the phonetic units of a language
This dictionary uses the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Spanish is a more phonetic language than English.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Others worried that the new policy might harm firms with foreign-sounding names, or result in clumsy efforts to translate Western names into Chinese rather than using phonetic approximations. — The Economist, "China is waging war on Western names for buildings and places," 29 June 2019 As such, the team settled on phonetic parameters that commonly apply to Nigerian English as part of guidelines for the project. — Yomi Kazeem, Quartz Africa, "How Google created a Nigerian voice and accent for Maps," 31 July 2019 Examples given by the ministries included the phonetic renderings in Chinese of foreign names as well as Chinese names using Roman letters. — The Economist, "China is waging war on Western names for buildings and places," 29 June 2019 The deaf person would learn to associate each letter of the alphabet with a phonetic sound. — National Geographic, "How monks helped invent sign language," 28 May 2019 Dunkin', formerly known as Dunkin' Donuts, was one of the popularizers of the phonetic spelling of the word and helped to popularize it, according to the article. — Morgan Hines, USA TODAY, "Celebrate National Donut Day! Or is it doughnut?," 7 June 2019 As in all good origin stories, the makeshift setup of Batchelor’s teen years was unknowingly an early prototype for his new Union Square salon, the COH, a phonetic acronym for the Culture of Hair. — Leilani Marie Labong, SFChronicle.com, "At the Culture of Hair salon, the mission is top of mind — and head," 5 July 2018 Before the graduates had filed into the arena, they were given the card on which Schoon had made his phonetic notes. — Erika Rose, Post-Tribune, "Pomp and circumstance … with precise pronunciation," 2 May 2018 Those newcomers no doubt wrestled with Spanish words and did their best phonetic pronunciations, which became the norm, perhaps with a boost from music, movies and popular culture. — Steve Lopez, latimes.com, "Spanish names, cultural shifts and a lot of L.A. linguist confusion. El Se-gun-dough or El Say-goon-dough?," 28 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phonetic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for phonetic
phonetic
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of phonetic
linguistics
: of or relating to spoken language, speech sounds, or the science of phonetics
: representing each speech sound with a single symbol
: using a system of written symbols that represent speech sounds in a way that is very close to how they actually sound
See the full definition for phonetic in the English Language Learners Dictionary
phonetic
adjective
pho·net·ic
| \ fə-ˈne-tik
\
\
Kids Definition of phonetic
: of or relating to spoken language or speech sounds
phonetic
adjective
pho·net·ic
| \ fə-ˈnet-ik
\
\
Medical Definition of phonetic
1a
: of or relating to spoken language or speech sounds
b
: of or relating to the science of phonetics
2
: representing the sounds and other phenomena of speech
Other Words from phonetic
phonetically
\ -i-k(ə-)lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
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