# oral

Pronunciation: say "AW-ruhl" US /ˈɔ.ɹəl/, UK /ˈɔː.ɹəl/; AUS say "OH-ruhl" /ˈoː.ɹəl/

## Adjective

1. Having to do with or affecting the mouth.
   - Simple: Having to do with the mouth.
   - _The clinic specializes in oral surgery and gum disease._
   - _Poor oral hygiene can lead to tooth decay over time._
2. Expressed in speech rather than in writing.
   - Simple: Spoken out loud instead of written down.
   - _The deal rested on an oral agreement that was never put on paper._
   - _Oral instructions can be misunderstood more easily than written ones._
3. Taken or given through the mouth, as a medication is.
   - Simple: Taken in through the mouth, like a medicine you swallow.
   - _The antibiotic is available in both oral and injectable forms._
   - _Patients usually prefer oral medications over injections._
4. Concerned with passing on information, stories, or literature by word of mouth rather than in writing.
   - Simple: Passed on by people speaking, not by writing.
   - _The oral tradition of the region preserved songs that were never written down._
   - _Folklorists study oral accounts handed from grandparents to grandchildren._
8. Produced with the airflow passing through the mouth, as English vowels are.
   - Simple: Made with the sound coming out through the mouth, not the nose.
   - _The consonant became oral once the speaker stopped nasalizing it._
   - _French distinguishes oral vowels from nasal ones._
9. Relying on speech and lip-reading, especially in the education of deaf people.
   - Simple: Using speaking and lip movements, especially when teaching deaf people.
   - _The oral method taught students to read lips and form spoken words._
   - _Critics argued that purely oral instruction neglected the needs of many deaf students._
10. Describing a culture or society that communicates through speech and has not developed writing.
   - Simple: Belonging to a group that speaks but does not yet read or write.
   - _Researchers studied how oral societies preserved law without written codes._
   - _Before writing arrived, the community remained largely oral._
11. Relating to an early stage of psychosexual development in which gratification comes through the mouth, by feeding and sucking and later by biting.
   - Simple: Linked to an early baby stage when a child gets pleasure through the mouth, by sucking and later biting.
   - _Freud placed the oral phase at the very start of childhood development._
   - _Fixation at the oral stage was said to shape later behavior._
12. Describing a personality type marked by passive dependence on others together with aggressiveness.
   - Simple: Describing a personality that leans on others and can also be pushy or hostile.
   - _She showed the oral traits of dependence mixed with hostility._
   - _Analysts linked his oral character to early childhood experiences._

## Noun

5. A spoken test or examination, especially in a language course.
   - Simple: A test where you answer questions by speaking, not by writing.
   - _He practiced for weeks before his Spanish oral._
   - _The examiner asked three questions during the oral._
6. Ellipsis of oral sex. *(colloquial)* — Ellipsis of oral sex.
   - Simple: Ellipsis of oral sex. A short, informal way to refer to oral sex.
   - _Some sexually transmitted infections can be passed through oral._
   - _The health class explained that oral still carries some risk of infection._
7. A physical examination of the mouth, such as a dentist or doctor might perform.
   - Simple: A check of the mouth done by a dentist or doctor.
   - _The nurse scheduled an oral before the surgery._
   - _A thorough oral revealed early signs of gum disease._
13. Ellipsis of oral steroid. — Ellipsis of oral steroid.
   - Simple: Ellipsis of oral steroid. A short way to name a steroid taken by mouth.
   - _The oral put more strain on his liver than the injectables did._
   - _She stacked an oral with a testosterone base._

## Origin

An early 17th-century borrowing from Late Latin ōrālis, formed from ōs ("the mouth") plus the adjectival suffix -ālis.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/oral (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).