Voice
WordNet
noun
(1) A means or agency by which something is expressed or communicated
"The voice of the law"
"The Times is not the voice of New York"
"Conservatism has many voices"
(2) The distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
"A shrill voice sounded behind us"
(3) The ability to speak
"He lost his voice"
(4) The melody carried by a particular voice or instrument in polyphonic music
"He tried to sing the tenor part"
(5) Expressing in coherent verbal form
"The articulation of my feelings"
"I gave voice to my feelings"
(6) The sound made by the vibration of vocal folds modified by the resonance of the vocal tract
"A singer takes good care of his voice"
"The giraffe cannot make any vocalizations"
(7) Something suggestive of speech in being a medium of expression
"The wee small voice of conscience"
"The voice of experience"
"He said his voices told him to do it"
(8) A sound suggestive of a vocal utterance
"The noisy voice of the waterfall"
"The incessant voices of the artillery"
(9) An advocate who represents someone else's policy or purpose
"The meeting was attended by spokespersons for all the major organs of government"
(10) (metonymy) a singer
"He wanted to hear trained voices sing it"
(11) (linguistics) the grammatical relation (active or passive) of the grammatical subject of a verb to the action that the verb denotes
verb
(12) Give voice to
"He voiced his concern"
(13) Utter with vibrating vocal chords
WiktionaryText
Etymology
vois, from voiz, voys, voice from vois, voiz (Modern voix), from vōcem, accusative form of vōx, from . Akin to Sanskrit वच् (to say, to speak), German erwähnen (to mention). Replaced steven, stefne "voice" from stefn (see steven), rouste "voice" from raust, and rearde "voice" from reord. Compare advocate, advowson, avouch, convoke, epic, vocal, vouch, vowel.
Noun
- Sound uttered by the mouth, especially that uttered by human beings in speech or song; steven; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character; as, the human voice; a pleasant voice; a low voice.
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- He with a manly voice saith his message. — Geoffrey Chaucer
- Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman. — Shakespeare, King Lear, V-iii
- Thy voice is music. — Shakespeare, Henry V, V-ii
- Join thy voice unto the angel choir. — John Milton
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- Sound of the kind or quality heard in speech or song in the consonants b, v, d, etc., and in the vowels; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; — distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in f, s, sh, etc., and also whisper.
- The tone or sound emitted by anything
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- After the fire a still small voice. — 1 Kings 19:12
- Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? — Job 40:9
- The floods have lifted up their voice. — Psalms 93:3
- O Marcus, I am warm’d; my heart Leaps at the trumpet’s voice. — Joseph Addison
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- The faculty or power of utterance; as, to cultivate the voice
- Language; words; speech; expression; signification of feeling or opinion
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- I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. — Galatians 4:20
- My voice is in my sword. — Shakespeare, Macbeth, V-vii
- Let us call on God in the voice of his church. — Bp. Fell
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- Opinion or choice expressed; judgment; a vote.
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- Sicinius. How now, my masters! have you chose this man? / 1st Citizen. He has our voices, sir. — Shakespeare, Coriolanus, II-iii
- Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice / Of holy senates, and elect by voice. — John Dryden
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- Command; precept; — now chiefly used in scriptural language.
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- So shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. — Deuteronomy 8:20
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- One who speaks; a speaker.
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- A potent voice of Parliament. — Alfred Tennyson
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- A particular mode of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, by means of which is indicated the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses.
Verb
- To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce; to divulge; as, to voice the sentiments of the nation.
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- Rather assume thy right in silence and . . . then voice it with claims and challenges. — Francis Bacon
- It was voiced that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet. — Francis Bacon
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- To utter with sonant or vocal tone; to pronounce with a narrowed glottis and rapid vibrations of the vocal cords; to speak above a whisper.
- To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of; as, to voice the pipes of an organ.
- To vote; to elect; to appoint — Shakespeare
- To clamor; to cry out, to steven — South
Related terms
- vocable
- vocabulary
- vocal
- vocalization
- vocalize
- vocation