uvular

[ yoo-vyuh-ler ]

adjective

1. of or relating to the uvula.
2. Phonetics. articulated with the back of the tongue held close to or touching the uvula, as in the r- sound of Parisian French.

noun

1. Phonetics. a uvular sound.

uvular

/ ˈjuːvjʊlə /

adjective

1. of or relating to the uvula
2. phonetics articulated with the uvula and the back of the tongue, such as the (r) sound of Parisian French

noun

1. a uvular consonant

Derived Forms

• ˈuvularly, adverb

Other Words From

• uvu·lar·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of uvular¹

From the New Latin word ūvulāris, dating back to 1700–10. See uvula, -ar ¹

Example Sentences

Laleh grew up with the ear for it—the uvular fricatives and alveolar trills that I could never get quite right.

From Literature

But there’s Bradley Cooper, nailing his uvular fricatives on the evening news.

From The New Yorker

Dickens noticed the uvular tone of voice in young thieves, due to deformity of the uvula.

From Project Gutenberg

In the eighth and ninth weeks, the two utterances, örrö, arra, became frequent, the ö and a being pure and the r uvular.

From Project Gutenberg