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Glite Dictionary
phonatory

phonatory

8.9
Relating to the sound the vocal cords make when you speak
  • adjective
  • /fəˈnætəri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : fonatorio
  • The patient's phonatory function improved after successful surgery on the vocal cords.

Examples

  • She studied how the brain controls the phonatory muscles during speech production.

  • No inspiratory abduction on either side was observed, but there was phonatory adduction of the left vocal fold, and with deep inspiration, there was some paradoxic adduction of the right vocal fold.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The teacher emphasized the importance of phonatory stability in effective communication.

Synonyms

vocal
vsphonatory
69 3.5

Able to make sounds with the voice

emphasises ability to use the voice rather than the physical sound source
laryngeal
vsphonatory
  • Specialized
4 9.3

Relating to the voice box in the throat

is narrower, centring on sound produced by the voice source
phonic
vsphonatory
  • Specialized
1 6.7

About speech sounds and how people make them

focuses on sound production by the voice source
glottic
vsphonatory
  • Specialized
8.4

Near the opening of the voice box that helps you make sound

focuses on sound production by the voice source rather than a tiny larynx part

Surface Forms

phonatory positive

Morphology

phonatory = phonate (opaque) = phon + ate + ory

The step from the verb 'phonate' to the adjective 'phonatory' is a regular adjective-forming suffixation with '-ory'.

Etymology

The word phonatory comes from the Greek root phonē, which means 'sound' or 'voice', and you can see the same root in familiar words like phone in 'telephone' and 'microphone'. The ending -ary means 'related to', so phonatory describes things that are 'related to producing voice or sound', for example the vocal cords that make our voice.