phonetic

pho·net·ic

adj \fə-ˈne-tik\

Definition of PHONETIC

1

a : 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: 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

— pho·net·i·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Examples of PHONETIC

1. the phonetic units of a language
2. This dictionary uses the International Phonetic Alphabet.
3. Spanish is a more phonetic language than English.

Origin of PHONETIC

New Latin phoneticus, from Greek phōnētikos, from phōnein to sound with the voice, from phōnē voice

First Known Use: 1819

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

Rhymes with PHONETIC

aesthetic, ascetic, athletic, balletic, bathetic, cometic, cosmetic, eidetic, emetic, frenetic, gametic, genetic, hermetic, limnetic, magnetic, mimetic, noetic, Ossetic, paretic, pathetic, phenetic, phyletic, poetic, prophetic, prosthetic, pyretic, splenetic, syncretic, syndetic, synthetic, tonetic, Venetic