ventriloquial

1 9.9

Able to make your voice seem to come from somewhere else

adjective
/vɛnˈtrɪləkwəl/

: ventriloquo

O'Driscoll went on to describe this process as "ventriloquial manipulation by Irish poets of their own reputations."

Examples

J. A. Hunter writes that "a pride of lions on the hunt communicate with each other by deep grunts that have a strangely ventriloquial quality."

Academic text (1997)
It's a pretty big deal on the ventriloquial social calendar.

Raising Buchanan (2019)
The magician's ventriloquial performance amazed the audience, making it seem like the puppet was talking on its own.
During the workshop, participants learned ventriloquial techniques to enhance their storytelling skills.
Her ventriloquial abilities impressed everyone at the talent show, as she spoke effortlessly while using a puppet.

Surface Forms

ventriloquial positive

Morphology

ventriloquial = ventriloquism (transparent) = ventriloqu + ial

The adjective is directly formed with the familiar adjectival suffix '-ial' meaning 'relating to' the noun 'ventriloquism', so the relation is clear to learners who know the base.

Etymology

Ventriloquial comes from the Latin words venter ('belly') and loqui ('to speak'), the same root found in eloquent. It literally means 'belly-speaking', so a ventriloquist makes a voice seem to come from the belly or a puppet, and ventriloquial describes that kind of speaking.