phonate

UK: /fəʊˈneɪt/ US: (fō′nāt)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pho•nate  (fō′nāt), v.t., v.i., -nat•ed, -nat•ing. 

1. Phonetics to provide (a sound source, and hence the pitch) for a given voiced continuant or vowel, through rapid, periodic glottal action.
2. Phonetics to vocalize.

• phon- + -ate¹ 1875–80

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

phonate / fəʊˈneɪt/ verb

1. (intransitive) to articulate speech sounds, esp to cause the vocal cords to vibrate in the execution of a voiced speech sound

Etymology: 19th Century: from Greek phōnē voice

phoˈnation noun