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Definition of pronounce - 6 dictionary results
English Pronunciation
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pro⋅nounce

  [pruh-nouns] verb, -nounced, -nounc⋅ing.
Use pronounce in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to enunciate or articulate (sounds, words, sentences, etc.).
2. to utter or sound in a particular manner in speaking: He pronounces his words indistinctly.
3. to utter or articulate in the accepted or correct manner: I can't pronounce this word.
4. to declare (a person or thing) to be as specified: She pronounced it the best salmon she had ever tasted.
5. to utter or deliver formally or solemnly: to pronounce sentence.
6. to announce authoritatively or officially: The judge pronounced the defendant guilty.
7. to indicate the pronunciation of (words) by providing a phonetic transcription: This dictionary pronounces most of the words entered.
–verb (used without object)
8. to pronounce words, phrases, etc.
9. to make a statement or assertion, esp. an authoritative statement (often fol. by on): He was required to pronounce on the findings of his research.
10. to give an opinion or decision (usually fol. by on): to pronounce on an important matter.
11. to indicate the pronunciation of words: a spelling book that pronounces.
Origin:
1300–50; ME pronouncen < MF prononcier < L prōnūntiāre to proclaim, announce, recite, utter. See pro- 1 , announce

Related forms:
pro⋅nounce⋅a⋅ble, adjective
pro⋅nounce⋅a⋅ble⋅ness, noun
pro⋅nounc⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pronounce
pro·nounce   (prə-nouns')   
v.   pro·nounced, pro·nounc·ing, pro·nounc·es

v.   tr.
    1. To use the organs of speech to make heard (a word or speech sound); utter.
    2. To say clearly, correctly, or in a given manner: learning to pronounce French; pronounced my name wrong.
  2. To represent (a word) in phonetic symbols.
  3. To declare officially or formally: pronounced the legislature to be in session; was pronounced dead on arrival.
v.   intr.
  1. To say words; speak.
  2. To declare one's opinion; make a pronouncement: pronouncing on the issues of the day.

[Middle English pronouncen, from Old French prononcier, from Latin prōnūntiāre : prō-, forth; see pro-1 + nūntiāre, to announce (from nūntius, messenger; see neu- in Indo-European roots).]
pro·nounce'a·ble adj., pro·nounc'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pronounce

Pro*nounce"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pronounced; p. pr. & vb. n. Pronounging.] [F. prononcer, L. pronunciare; pro before, forth + nunciare, nuntiare, to announce. See Announce.]

1. To utter articulately; to speak out or distinctly; to utter, as words or syllables; to speak with the proper sound and accent as, adults rarely learn to pronounce a foreign language correctly.

2. To utter officially or solemnly; to deliver, as a decree or sentence; as, to pronounce sentence of death.

Sternly he pronounced The rigid interdiction. --Milton.

3. To speak or utter rhetorically; to deliver; to recite; as, to pronounce an oration.

Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you. --Shak.

4. To declare or affirm; as, he pronounced the book to be a libel; he pronounced the act to be a fraud.

The God who hallowed thee and blessed, Pronouncing thee all good. --Keble.

Syn: To deliver; utter; speak. See Deliver.

Pronounce

Pro*nounce"\, v. i. 1. To give a pronunciation; to articulate; as, to pronounce faultlessly. --Earle.

2. To make declaration; to utter on opinion; to speak with confidence. [R.] --Dr. H. More.

Pronounce

Pro*nounce"\, n. Pronouncement; declaration; pronunciation. [Obs.] --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pronounce
Spanish: pronunciar,
German: aussprechen,
Japanese: 発音する
More Translations »

pronounce 
c.1330, "to utter, declare officially," from O.Fr. pronuncier (1277), from L.L. pronunciare, from L. pronuntiare "to proclaim, announce, pronounce," from pro- "forth, out, in public" + nuntiare "announce," from nuntius "messenger" (see nuncio). With ref. to the mode of sounding words or languages, it is attested from c.1620 (but cf. pronunciation in this sense 1430). Pronounced, with the fig. meaning "emphatic," first attested c.1730.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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