Library / English Dictionary

PRONOUNCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pronounce judgment on

Example:

They labeled him unfit to work here

Synonyms:

judge; label; pronounce

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "pronounce" is one way to...):

adjudge; declare; hold (declare to be)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pronounce"):

acquit; assoil; clear; discharge; exculpate; exonerate (pronounce not guilty of criminal charges)

convict (find or declare guilty)

tout (advertize in strongly positive terms)

find; rule (decide on and make a declaration about)

qualify (pronounce fit or able)

disqualify (declare unfit)

intonate; intone (speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch or in a particular tone)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s something Adjective/Noun
Somebody ----s somebody something

Derivation:

pronouncement (an authoritative declaration)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way

Example:

Can the child sound out this complicated word?

Synonyms:

articulate; enounce; enunciate; pronounce; say; sound out

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

"Pronounce" entails doing...:

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pronounce"):

syllabise; syllabize (utter with distinct articulation of each syllable)

drawl (lengthen and slow down or draw out)

labialise; labialize; round (pronounce with rounded lips)

lisp (speak with a lisp)

accent; accentuate; stress (put stress on; utter with an accent)

vocalise; vocalize; vowelise; vowelize (pronounce as a vowel)

click (produce a click)

trill (pronounce with a trill, of the phoneme 'r')

sibilate (pronounce with an initial sibilant)

flap (pronounce with a flap, of alveolar sounds)

explode (cause to burst as a result of air pressure; of stop consonants like /p/, /t/, and /k/)

roll (pronounce with a roll, of the phoneme /r/)

subvocalise; subvocalize (articulate without making audible sounds)

retroflex (articulate (a consonant) with the tongue curled back against the palate)

sound; vocalise; vocalize; voice (utter with vibrating vocal chords)

aspirate (pronounce with aspiration; of stop sounds)

mispronounce; misspeak (pronounce a word incorrectly)

nasalise; nasalize (speak nasally or through the nose)

nasalise; nasalize (pronounce with a lowered velum)

palatalise; palatalize (pronounce a consonant with the tongue against the palate)

lilt (articulate in a very careful and rhythmic way)

raise (pronounce (vowels) by bringing the tongue closer to the roof of the mouth)

devoice (utter with tense vocal chords)

twang (pronounce with a nasal twang)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pronunciation (the way a word or a language is customarily spoken)

pronunciation (the manner in which someone utters a word)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The next day White Fang's anxiety and restlessness were even more pronounced.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

And this is the first time I have ever heard the word pronounced.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He had even smoked there. I found the ash of a cigar, which my special knowledge of tobacco ashes enables me to pronounce as an Indian cigar.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His heart and lungs were pronounced magnificent.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The effect is most pronounced near sunset, when light from the sun passes through a longer path in the atmosphere than it does at mid-day.

(Sunset in Mars' Gale Crater, NASA)

Now will I pronounce thy sentence.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I can only pronounce him to be a sensible man, well-bred, well-informed, of gentle address, and, I believe, possessing an amiable heart.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

My organs were indeed harsh, but supple; and although my voice was very unlike the soft music of their tones, yet I pronounced such words as I understood with tolerable ease.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Vertical ridges are usually not associated with underlying disorders and tend to become more pronounced with age.

(Nail Ridging, NCI Thesaurus)

But the person who advanced was now near enough to see her, and stepping forward with eagerness, pronounced her name.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)