English noun: vowel | |||
1. | vowel (communication) a speech sound made with the vocal tract open | ||
Synonyms | vowel sound | ||
Broader (hypernym) | phone, sound, speech sound | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | ablaut, diphthong, schwa, shwa, stem vowel, thematic vowel | ||
Antonyms | consonant | ||
2. | vowel (communication) a letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken vowel | ||
Broader (hypernym) | alphabetic character, letter, letter of the alphabet | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | vowel point | ||