phonetically
adverb
pho·net·ic·al·ly
fə-ˈne-ti-k(ə-)lē 
: in a phonetic manner or sense or from a phonetic point of view
words that are phonetically similar
especially
: by using a system of written symbols that closely represent speech sounds
Wine Enthusiast breaks down the toughest wine tongue twisters and spells them out for you phonetically, so you'll never be speechless around a sommelier again. —
Wine Enthusiast Magazine
Wine Enthusiast Magazine At the same time, the Communists abandoned the Wade-Giles system of phonetically rendering the sound of Mandarin using the Roman alphabet and adopted instead the pinyin system. —Jasper Becker
Jasper Becker Examples of phonetically in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The women’s names were often spelled phonetically—differently by French, English, and Scottish writers—or recorded only as someone’s wife.
—
Jackie Snow,
IEEE Spectrum,
13 May 2026
The original bill, House Bill 253, would ban teachers from using three-cueing, a method of teaching that encourages students to guess unfamiliar words based on pictures or context clues, rather than decode the words phonetically.
—
Keely Doll,
Louisville Courier Journal,
24 Mar. 2026
In the region of Fujian in southeastern China, where southern Min languages are spoken, the local word for tea is pronounced te (phonetically tê, pronounced as tay).
—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
21 Mar. 2026
Knowing that nostalgia would appeal to soldiers far from home, Kim’s mother bought a Rosemary Clooney album on the black market, and taught the songs phonetically to the girls.
—
Margaret Heidenry,
Vanity Fair,
24 Feb. 2026
In the latter case, Transparent Language Online phonetically translates words into the Roman alphabet.
—
PC Magazine,
16 July 2025
Given the limited sonic palette of Romance languages, Mobarak sought out to make an opera with the widest array of human vocal sounds by translating Dafne into some of the world’s most phonetically complex languages.
—
Mariana Fernández,
ARTnews.com,
18 Dec. 2024
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Jackie Snow,
IEEE Spectrum,
13 May 2026
The original bill, House Bill 253, would ban teachers from using three-cueing, a method of teaching that encourages students to guess unfamiliar words based on pictures or context clues, rather than decode the words phonetically.
—
Keely Doll,
Louisville Courier Journal,
24 Mar. 2026
In the region of Fujian in southeastern China, where southern Min languages are spoken, the local word for tea is pronounced te (phonetically tê, pronounced as tay).
—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
21 Mar. 2026
Knowing that nostalgia would appeal to soldiers far from home, Kim’s mother bought a Rosemary Clooney album on the black market, and taught the songs phonetically to the girls.
—
Margaret Heidenry,
Vanity Fair,
24 Feb. 2026
In the latter case, Transparent Language Online phonetically translates words into the Roman alphabet.
—
PC Magazine,
16 July 2025
Given the limited sonic palette of Romance languages, Mobarak sought out to make an opera with the widest array of human vocal sounds by translating Dafne into some of the world’s most phonetically complex languages.
—
Mariana Fernández,
ARTnews.com,
18 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Phonetically.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phonetically. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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