unvoiced

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a nountechnical

   Describing a speech sound made without the vocal cords vibrating, such as the sounds of p, t, k, f and s.

   Grammar: Usually before a noun in phonetics: an unvoiced consonant. Put your fingers on your throat to feel the difference.

   Patterns

   • an unvoiced consonant
   • unvoiced sound

   The letter p stands for an unvoiced consonant, while b is voiced.

   Try whispering: whispered speech is mostly unvoiced.

   The final s in 'cats' is unvoiced, but the s in 'dogs' is voiced.

2. 2adjectivecomparable

   Felt or thought but not said aloud or openly expressed.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: unvoiced fears. It often describes worries or opinions that people keep to themselves.

   Patterns

   • unvoiced fears
   • remain unvoiced

   Her unvoiced worries kept her awake at night.

   The doubts stayed unvoiced during the meeting.

   He had many unvoiced complaints about the new schedule.

Common combinations

unvoiced consonant

The sound /s/ is an unvoiced consonant.

unvoiced sound

An unvoiced sound makes no buzzing in the throat.

unvoiced fears

The team had many unvoiced fears about the deadline.

unvoiced objection

Her unvoiced objection was obvious from her expression.

remain unvoiced

The criticism remained unvoiced for years.

Synonyms and how they differ

voiceless

Voiceless is the more common technical term for the speech sound, and unvoiced is its near-equivalent in the same field.

unspoken

Unspoken means understood without being said, as in an unspoken rule, while unvoiced suggests an opinion deliberately held back.

unexpressed

Unexpressed is plain and neutral for feelings that have not been shown, with no technical sense.

silent

Silent means making no sound at all, whereas an unvoiced sound is still heard, just without vocal cord vibration.

Opposites

Word family

voice verb

to say or express an opinion or feeling

voiced adjective

made with the vocal cords vibrating

voiceless adjective

made without vocal cord vibration, or having no say

voicing noun

the vibration of the vocal cords in speech

Commonly confused: unvoiced or silent?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “unvoiced”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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