phonetic

[ fuh-net-ik, foh- ]
/ fəˈnɛt ɪk, foʊ- /

adjective

Also pho·net·i·cal. of or relating to speech sounds, their production, or their transcription in written symbols.
corresponding to pronunciation: phonetic transcription.
agreeing with pronunciation: phonetic spelling.
concerning or involving the discrimination of nondistinctive elements of a language. In English, certain phonological features, as length and aspiration, are phonetic but not phonemic.

noun

(in Chinese writing) a written element that represents a sound and is used in combination with a radical to form a character.

Origin of phonetic

1820–30; < New Latin phōnēticus < Greek phōnētikós vocal, equivalent to phōnēt(ós) to be spoken (verbid of phōneîn to speak) + -ikos -ic

OTHER WORDS FROM phonetic

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH phonetic

fanatic phonetic

Example sentences from the Web for phonetic

British Dictionary definitions for phonetic

phonetic
/ (fəˈnɛtɪk) /

adjective

of or relating to phonetics
denoting any perceptible distinction between one speech sound and another, irrespective of whether the sounds are phonemes or allophones Compare phonemic (def. 2)
conforming to pronunciation phonetic spelling

Derived forms of phonetic

phonetically, adverb

Word Origin for phonetic

C19: from New Latin phōnēticus, from Greek phōnētikos, from phōnein to make sounds, speak

Medical definitions for phonetic

phonetic
[ fə-nĕtĭk ]

adj.

Of or relating to phonetics.
Representing the sounds of speech with a set of distinct symbols, each designating a single sound.