vocal
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.expressing your opinions or feelings frequently and strongly.
adj.disposed to express opinions or feelings freely and forcefully.
Simple“She has always been a vocal critic of the new government policies.”
In context“The local community became increasingly vocal about the proposed development, attending every council meeting to voice their concerns.”
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.relating to the human voice or the sounds people make when speaking or singing.
adj.pertaining to or produced by the human voice.
Simple“The singer had to rest her vocal cords after the long concert tour.”
In context“The therapist worked with the patient to improve their vocal resonance following the surgery on their throat.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
n.the part of a piece of music that is sung rather than played on instruments.
n.the sung component of a musical recording or performance, often distinguished from the instrumental backing.
Simple“The lead singer's vocals were much louder than the guitars in this mix.”
In context“The producer decided to layer the backing vocals to create a more ethereal atmosphere during the chorus.”
UsageOften used in the plural form 'vocals' when referring to a performance.
Antonyms
“They also raised the minimum age for participating singers from 16 to 18; and introduced stricter rules around the use of pre-recorded vocals at the contest.”
“A powerhouse version of Dangerous Woman claps like thunder; and Grande's vocal riffs on Safety Net are so tremendously colossal they should be registered as the eighth wonder of the world.”
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ-der. Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs Proto-Italic *wōks Latin vōx Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin vōcālisbor. Middle English vocal English vocal Late Middle English vocal, borrowed from Latin vōcālis (“uttering a voice, sounding, speaking”), from vōx (“a voice, sound, tone”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix). Doublet of vowel and vocalis. Compare Old French vocal.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.