Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to phonate

to phonate

9.9
To make voice sounds by vibrating the vocal cords
  • verb
  • /fəˈneɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : fonar
  • The speech therapist taught her how to phonate more effectively to improve her communication.

Examples

  • I mean, her vocal cords, they don't phonate freely.

    Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

  • The woman could only unconsciously keep pointing while her dumbstruck husband, trying to exclaim, only managed to phonate a sort of protracted "oooorg" sound, his eyes having dilated to a larger size.

    Blog text (31)

  • After a few lessons, he was able to phonate clearer vowels in his speech.

  • With practice, she learned to phonate different sounds smoothly and confidently.

Synonyms

to vocalize
vsto phonate
14 4.4

To use your voice to show your thoughts or feelings

focuses specifically on making speech sounds by vibrating the vocal cords

How Loud

to scream
∞ 1.0
to shout
644 1.0
to phonate
  • Specialized
9.9
to murmur
11 4.2
to whisper
586 1.0

Surface Forms

phonate infinitive
phonated past
phonated past participle
phonating present participle
phonates third person singular

Morphology

phonate = phonation (semi-transparent) = phon + ate

The verb aligns with the technical noun 'phonation' (producing voice), a relation clear to learners with phonetics knowledge but less obvious to general learners.

Etymology

The word phonate comes from the Greek root phon- meaning 'sound' or 'voice', the same root in phone and microphone. So, to phonate is to make a voice or sound by making the vocal cords shake.