labialize

American

[ley-bee-uh-lahyz] / ˈleɪ bi əˌlaɪz /

especially British, labialise

verb (used with object)

Phonetics.

labialized, labializing

to give a labial character to (a sound), for example, to round (a vowel).

labialize British

/ ˈleɪbɪəˌlaɪz /

verb

phonetics to pronounce with articulation involving rounded lips, such as for ( k ) before a close back vowel ( uː ) as in English cool

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

labialism noun
labialization noun
unlabialize verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of labialize

First recorded in 1865–70; labial + -ize

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023