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oral Definition

oral (ôr′əl)

adjective

  1. uttered by the mouth; spoken
  2. of speech; using speech
  3. of, involving, or administered through the mouth
  4. of or having to do with sexual stimulation of the genitals by the mouth or tongue
  5. Phonet. having mouth resonance only
  6. Psychoanalysis
    1. designating or of the earliest stage of psychosexual development, in which interest centers around sucking, feeding, and biting
    2. designating or of such traits in the adult as friendliness, generosity, and optimism or aggressiveness and pessimism, regarded as unconscious psychic residues of that stage
  7. Zool. on or of the same side as the mouth

Etymology: < L os (gen. oris), the mouth < IE base *ōus-, mouth, edge > Sans -ḥ, mouth, ON ōss, mouth of a stream

noun

an examination with spoken questions and answers, as at a college: often used in pl.

oral Related Forms

o′rally adverb

oral Synonyms

oral

modif.

spoken, vocal, verbal, uttered, voiced, lingual, unwritten, phonetic, phonic, articulated, pronounced, phonated, sounded, from the lips, from the mouth, in the mouth, not written, nuncupative, word-of-mouth, viva voce (Latin); see also spoken.

Antonyms written*, unspoken*, printed.

oral refers to that which is spoken, as distinguished from that which is written or otherwise communicated an oral report, oral traditions; verbal, though sometimes synonymous with oral, in strict discrimination refers to anything using words, either written or oral, to communicate an idea or feeling a verbal image, verbal skills

oral Law Definition

adj

Spoken or uttered, as distinct from written or hand-signaled.

oral Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • contraceptive: To address this she started to take the oral contraceptive intermittently.
  • presentation: Each student will make an oral presentation of his or her research.
  • examination: The oral examination is worth 25 % of the final mark.
  • hearing: However, there may be a good reason for refusing an oral hearing.
  • tradition: Combe St Nicholas Palmer records an oral tradition of a well here revealed in a dream during a drought at Chard.
  • cavity: To assess the ammonia content of vapor within the oral cavity in relation to H. pylori infection in vivo.

Modifying Another Word

  • primarily: Folklore and folk custom, by their nature, are manifestations of primarily oral cultures.
  • sometimes: Sometimes oral corticosteroids ( eg prednisolone ) are needed.

Used with adjective complement

  • use: Phase I clinical trials using oral dosing were completed in early 1999.
  • pierce: Provider offices whose on piercing oral the island from.
  • consider: Management: Consider oral activated charcoal if ingestion of a potentially toxic amount has occurred within 1 hour.

Browse dictionary entries near oral

  1. ‹ Oradea
  2. ‹ orad
  3. ‹ oracular
  4. ‹ oracle
  5. ‹ orach
  6. ‹ ora
  7. ‹ -or
  8. ‹ or
  9. ‹ OQPSK
  10. ‹ -opy
  1. oral argument ›
  2. oral contract ›
  3. oral deposition ›
  4. oral history ›
  5. oral surgery ›
  6. oralism ›
  7. orality ›
  8. orally ›
  9. -orama ›
  10. Oran ›