Adjacent Words

Voice definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VOICE, n. [L. vox; voco. The sense of the verb is to throw, to drive out sound; and voice is that which is driven out.]
1. Sound or audible noise uttered by the mouth, either of human beings or of other animals. We say, the voice of a man is loud or clear; the voice of a woman is soft or musical; the voice of a dog is loud or harsh; the voice of a bird is sweet or melodious. The voice of human beings is articulate; that of beasts, inarticulate. The voices of men are different, and when uttered together, are often dissonant.
2. Any sound made by the breath; as the trumpet's voice.
3. A vote; suffrage; opinion or choice expressed. Originally voice was the oral utterance of choice, but it now signifies any vote however given.
Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice of holy senates, and elect by voice.
I have no words; my voice is in my sword.
4. Language; words; expression.
Let us call on God in the voice of his church.
5. In Scripture, command; precept.
Ye would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. Deutoronomy 8.
6. Sound.
After the fire, a still small voice. 1 Kings 19.
Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Job 40.
The floods have lifted up their voice. Psalms 93.
7. Language; tone; mode of expression.
I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice. Galatians 4.
8. In grammar, a particular mode of inflecting or conjugating verbs; as the active voice; the passive voice.
VOICE, v.t.
1. To rumor; to report.
It was voiced that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet. [Little used.]
2. To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of; as, to voice the pipes of an organ.
3. To vote.
VOICE, v.i. To clamor; to exclaim. Obs.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech; "A shrill voice sounded behind us"
2: 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" [syn: voice, vocalization, vocalisation, vocalism, phonation, vox]
3: a sound suggestive of a vocal utterance; "the noisy voice of the waterfall"; "the incessant voices of the artillery"
4: expressing in coherent verbal form; "the articulation of my feelings"; "I gave voice to my feelings" [syn: articulation, voice]
5: 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"
6: 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"
7: (metonymy) a singer; "he wanted to hear trained voices sing it"
8: an advocate who represents someone else's policy or purpose; "the meeting was attended by spokespersons for all the major organs of government" [syn: spokesperson, interpreter, representative, voice]
9: the ability to speak; "he lost his voice"
10: (linguistics) the grammatical relation (active or passive) of the grammatical subject of a verb to the action that the verb denotes
11: the melody carried by a particular voice or instrument in polyphonic music; "he tried to sing the tenor part" [syn: part, voice] v
1: give voice to; "He voiced his concern"
2: utter with vibrating vocal chords [syn: voice, sound, vocalize, vocalise] [ant: devoice]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old French vois, from Latin voc-, vox; akin to Old High German giwahanen to mention, Greek epos word, speech, Sanskrit v?k voice Date: 14th century 1. a. sound produced by vertebrates by means of lungs, larynx, or syrinx; especially sound so produced by human beings b. (1) musical sound produced by the vocal folds and resonated by the cavities of head and throat (2) the power or ability to produce musical tones (3) singer (4) one of the melodic parts in a vocal or instrumental composition (5) condition of the vocal organs with respect to production of musical tones (6) the use of the voice (as in singing or acting) <studying voice> c. expiration of air with the vocal cords drawn close so as to vibrate audibly (as in uttering vowels and consonant sounds as v or z) d. the faculty of utterance <lost my voice> 2. a sound resembling or suggesting vocal utterance 3. an instrument or medium of expression <the party became the voice of the workers> 4. a. wish, choice, or opinion openly or formally expressed <the voice of the people> b. right of expression; also influential power 5. distinction of form or a system of inflections of a verb to indicate the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses <active and passive voices> II. transitive verb (voiced; voicing) Date: 15th century 1. to express in words ; utter <voice a complaint> 2. to adjust for producing the proper musical sounds 3. to pronounce (as a consonant) with voice Synonyms: see express

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a sound formed in the larynx etc. and uttered by the mouth, esp. human utterance in speaking, shouting, singing, etc. (heard a voice; spoke in a low voice). b the ability to produce this (has lost her voice). 2 a the use of the voice; utterance, esp. in spoken or written words (esp. give voice). b an opinion so expressed. c the right to express an opinion (I have no voice in the matter). d an agency by which an opinion is expressed. 3 Gram. a form or set of forms of a verb showing the relation of the subject to the action (active voice; passive voice). 4 Mus. a a vocal part in a composition. b a constituent part in a fugue. 5 Phonet. sound uttered with resonance of the vocal cords, not with mere breath. 6 (usu. in pl.) the supposed utterance of an invisible guiding or directing spirit. --v.tr. 1 give utterance to; express (the letter voices our opinion). 2 (esp. as voiced adj.) Phonet. utter with vibration of the vocal cords (e.g. b, d, g, v, z). 3 Mus. regulate the tone-quality of (organ-pipes). Phrases and idioms: in voice (or good voice) in proper vocal condition for singing or speaking. voice-box the larynx. the voice of God the expression of God's will, wrath, etc. voice-over narration in a film etc. not accompanied by a picture of the speaker. voice-print a visual record of speech, analysed with respect to frequency, duration, and amplitude. voice vote US a vote taken by noting the relative strength of calls of aye and no. with one voice unanimously. Derivatives: -voiced adj. voicer n. (in sense 3 of v.). Etymology: ME f. AF voiz, OF vois f. L vox vocis

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Voice Voice, n. [OE. vois, voys, OF. vois, voiz, F. voix, L. vox, vocis, akin to Gr. ? a word, ? a voice, Skr. vac to say, to speak, G. erw["a]hnen to mention. Cf. Advocate, Advowson, Avouch, Convoke, Epic, Vocal, Vouch, Vowel.] 1. Sound uttered by the mouth, especially that uttered by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character; as, the human voice; a pleasant voice; a low voice. He with a manly voice saith his message. --Chaucer. Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman. --Shak. Thy voice is music. --Shak. Join thy voice unto the angel choir. --Milton. 2. (Phon.) 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. Note: Voice, in this sense, is produced by vibration of the so-called vocal cords in the larynx (see Illust. of Larynx) which act upon the air, not in the manner of the strings of a stringed instrument, but as a pair of membranous tongues, or reeds, which, being continually forced apart by the outgoing current of breath, and continually brought together again by their own elasticity and muscular tension, break the breath current into a series of puffs, or pulses, sufficiently rapid to cause the sensation of tone. The power, or loudness, of such a tone depends on the force of the separate pulses, and this is determined by the pressure of the expired air, together with the resistance on the part of the vocal cords which is continually overcome. Its pitch depends on the number of a["e]rial pulses within a given time, that is, on the rapidity of their succession. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 5, 146, 155. 3. The tone or sound emitted by anything. After the fire a still small voice. --1 Kings xix. 12. Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? --Job xl. 9. The floods have lifted up their voice. --Ps. xciii. 3. O Marcus, I am warm'd; my heart Leaps at the trumpet's voice. --Addison. 4. The faculty or power of utterance; as, to cultivate the voice. 5. Language; words; speech; expression; signification of feeling or opinion. I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. --Gal. iv. 20. My voice is in my sword. --Shak. Let us call on God in the voice of his church. --Bp. Fell. 6. Opinion or choice expressed; judgment; a vote. Sic. How now, my masters! have you chose this man? 1 Cit. He has our voices, sir. --Shak. Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice Of holy senates, and elect by voice. --Dryden. 7. Command; precept; -- now chiefly used in scriptural language. So shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. --Deut. viii. 20. 8. One who speaks; a speaker. ``A potent voice of Parliament.'' --Tennyson. 9. (Gram.) 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. Active voice (Gram.), that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as the agent or doer of the action expressed by it. Chest voice (Phon.), a kind of voice of a medium or low pitch and of a sonorous quality ascribed to resonance in the chest, or thorax; voice of the thick register. It is produced by vibration of the vocal cords through their entire width and thickness, and with convex surfaces presented to each other. Head voice (Phon.), a kind of voice of high pitch and of a thin quality ascribed to resonance in the head; voice of the thin register; falsetto. In producing it, the vibration of the cords is limited to their thin edges in the upper part, which are then presented to each other. Middle voice (Gram.), that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as both the agent, or doer, and the object of the action, that is, as performing some act to or upon himself, or for his own advantage. Passive voice. (Gram.) See under Passive, a. Voice glide (Pron.), the brief and obscure neutral vowel sound that sometimes occurs between two consonants in an unaccented syllable (represented by the apostrophe), as in able (a"b'l). See Glide, n., 2. Voice stop. See Voiced stop, under Voiced, a. With one voice, unanimously. ``All with one voice . . . cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.'' --Acts xix. 34.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Voice Voice, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Voiced; p. pr. & vb. n. Voicing.] 1. To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce; to divulge; as, to voice the sentiments of the nation. ``Rather assume thy right in silence and . . . then voice it with claims and challenges.'' --Bacon. It was voiced that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet. --Bacon. 2. (Phon.) 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. 3. To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of; as, to voice the pipes of an organ. 4. To vote; to elect; to appoint. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Voice Voice, v. i. To clamor; to cry out. [Obs.] --South.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(voices, voicing, voiced) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. When someone speaks or sings, you hear their voice. Miriam's voice was strangely calm... 'The police are here,' she said in a low voice... There was a sound of loud voices from the kitchen... N-COUNT: oft poss N, adj N 2. Someone's voice is their opinion on a particular topic and what they say about it. What does one do when a government simply refuses to listen to the voice of the opposition?... N-COUNT 3. If you have a voice in something, you have the right to express an opinion on it. Egypt is once again accepted as an important voice in Arab politics... N-SING: N in n 4. If you voice something such as an opinion or an emotion, you say what you think or feel. Some scientists have voiced concern that the disease could be passed on to humans... The predominant opinion voiced by Detroit's Arab population seems to be one of frustration. = express VERB: V n, V-ed 5. In grammar, if a verb is in the active voice, the person who performs the action is the subject of the verb. If a verb is in the passive voice, the thing or person affected by the action is the subject of the verb. N-SING: the adj N 6. If you give voice to an opinion, a need, or a desire, you express it aloud. ...a community radio run by the Catholic Church which gave voice to the protests of the slum-dwellers. = express PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n 7. If someone tells you to keep your voice down, they are asking you to speak more quietly. Keep your voice down, for goodness sake. PHRASE: V inflects 8. If you lose your voice, you cannot speak for a while because of an illness. I had to be careful not to get a sore throat and lose my voice. PHRASE: V inflects 9. If you raise your voice, you speak more loudly. If you lower your voice, you speak more quietly. He raised his voice for the benefit of the other two women... She'd lowered her voice until it was barely audible. PHRASE: V inflects 10. If you say something at the top of your voice, you say it as loudly as possible. 'Damn!' he yelled at the top of his voice. PHRASE: Ns inflect [emphasis] 11. If a number of people say something with one voice, they all express the same opinion about something. This would enable the community to speak with one voice in world affairs. PHRASE

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

vois.

See BATH KOL.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Spoken sound, utterance. 2. Sound, noise, notes. 3. Vote, suffrage, choice expressed. 4. Tone, mode of speaking, distinctive character or quality of tone. 5. Language, words, expression, signification of feeling. 6. Command, precept.

Moby Thesaurus

Australian ballot, Hare system, Heldentenor, Meistersinger, OK, acceptance, accompaniment, active, active voice, adherence, admiration, agency, agent, air, allophone, alto, alveolar, apico-alveolar, apico-dental, approbation, approval, aria singer, articulate, articulation, aspiration, assert, assimilation, atone, attune, aye, ballot, baritenor, baritone, bass, basso, basso buffo, basso cantante, basso continuo, basso ostinato, basso profundo, bassus, bilabial, blessing, blues singer, bourdon, breathe, bring up, burden, cacuminal, canary, cantatrice, canto, cantor, cantus, cantus figuratus, cantus planus, canvass, canvassing, caroler, casting vote, cerebral, chance, chanter, chantress, check, chest voice, chime, chord, chorus, coloratura, coloratura soprano, come out with, comic bass, communicate, consonant, continuant, continuo, contralto, convey, countenance, countertenor, counting heads, crooner, cumulative voting, deciding vote, decision, declare, deep bass, deliver, dental, descant, diphthong, disclose, dissimilation, diva, division, dramatic soprano, drone, drone bass, emit, endorsement, enfranchisement, enunciate, epenthetic vowel, esteem, explosive, express, expression, fagot vote, falsetto, favor, favorable vote, figured bass, fling off, formulate, forum, franchise, give, give expression, give out with, give tongue, give utterance, give voice, glide, glottal, glottalization, graveyard vote, ground bass, guttural, hand vote, head voice, herald, heroic tenor, hymner, impart, improvisator, instrument, labial, labialization, labiodental, labiovelar, laryngeal, lateral, lead singer, let out, lieder singer, line, lingual, linguistic act, lip, liquid, list system, locution, make known, manner of articulation, manner of speaking, medio-passive, medium, melodist, mezzo-soprano, middle, middle voice, mode of expression, modification, monophthong, morphophoneme, mouthpiece, mute, nasal, nay, no, nod, nontransferable vote, occlusive, official spokesman, opera singer, option, organ, out with, palatal, parasitic vowel, parol, parole, part, participation, passive, passive voice, peak, pharyngeal, pharyngealization, phonate, phonation, phone, phoneme, phrase, plain chant, plain song, plebiscite, plebiscitum, plosive, plumper, plural vote, poll, polling, pour forth, preferential voting, present, prick song, prima donna, prolocutor, prolocutress, prolocutrix, pronounce, proportional representation, prothetic vowel, proxy, psalm singer, publication, put, put forth, put in tune, put in words, raise, rapporteur, record vote, recount, referendum, reflexive, reporter, representation, representative, respect, retroflex, reveal, right to vote, rising vote, rock-and-roll singer, sanction, say, say-so, seal of approval, secret ballot, segmental phoneme, semivowel, sequence of phonemes, set forth, share, show of hands, singer, single vote, singstress, snap vote, sonant, songbird, songster, songstress, sonority, soprano, sound, speaker, speaking, speech, speech act, speech sound, spokesman, spokesperson, spokeswoman, stamp of approval, statement, stop, straw vote, string, suffrage, surd, syllabic nucleus, syllabic peak, syllable, talk, tell, tenor, the spoken word, thorough bass, throw off, timbre, tone, tone down, tone of voice, tone up, tongue, torch singer, transferable vote, transition sound, treble, triphthong, tune, tune up, turn, undersong, utter, utterance, utterance string, vehicle, velar, vent, verbalize, viva voce, vocable, vocalic, vocalist, vocalize, vocalizer, voce, voce di petto, voce di testa, vocoid, voice part, voice qualifier, voice quality, voice vote, voiced sound, voiceless sound, voicing, vote, voting, voting right, vowel, warbler, way of saying, whisper, word, word of mouth, words, write-in, write-in vote, yea, yea vote, yeas and nays, yes, yodeler