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vowel

0 antonyms and opposites of vowel, grouped by meaning.

Noun — A speech sound made with an open vocal tract, without blocking the airflow — the core sound of a syllable.

How to use vowel

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

long vowel short vowel vowel sound

Etymology

From Old French vouel (compare modern French voyelle), from Latin vocalis, "voiced" — a doublet of vocal.

Full origin of vowel →

Frequently asked questions

What does “vowel” mean?

The word “vowel” means a speech sound made with an open vocal tract, without blocking the airflow — the core sound of a syllable. In plain terms, a, e, i, o, u (and sometimes y) — the open, unobstructed speech sounds and the letters that represent them.

How do you pronounce “vowel”?

“Vowel” is pronounced VOW-uhl (/ˈvaʊ.əl/ in IPA).

How do you use “vowel” in a sentence?

Here is “vowel” used in a sentence: “English has far more vowel sounds than it has vowel letters.”

What part of speech is “vowel”?

“Vowel” is a noun.

Where does the word “vowel” come from?

The word “vowel” comes from Latin. From Old French vouel (compare modern French voyelle), from Latin vocalis, "voiced" — a doublet of vocal.

Is “vowel” a common word?

“Vowel” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

How many meanings does “vowel” have?

“Vowel” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a speech sound made with an open vocal tract, without blocking the airflow — the core sound of a syllable.

Related words

Other categories of sounds: Types of vowels: back central close close-mid consonant front intervocalic liquid mid near-close near-open open open-mid

Nearby words

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Synonyms and antonyms from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.