spoken

1. 1
   verb

   Past participle of speak.

   Once the vows had been spoken, the couple turned to face their guests.

   Harsh words were spoken during the heated meeting.

   Note

   The participle is built on the past tense: spoke plus the ending -n. Spoken follows have in the perfect (she has spoken) and be in the passive. The passive is especially common with the "know a language" sense of speak, as in French is spoken here or a widely spoken language. Keep spoke for the simple past: he spoke, never he spoken.

2. 2
   adjective

   Connected with speech rather than with written language.

   The course focuses on spoken communication and everyday conversation.

   Researchers compared the grammar of spoken Arabic across several regions.

   Similaroral, verbal

   Oppositewritten

3. 3
   adjective

   Consisting of the distinct, articulate sounds produced by the human voice.

   The guard gave a spoken warning seconds before the gate closed.

   The device converts typed text into a clear spoken reply.

   Similarverbal, oral, vocal, audible

   Oppositewritten, silent

   Note

   Here the word classifies whole languages by their medium: a language made of articulate sounds, as against a notation. Edward Zaccaro's Real World Algebra (2001) draws exactly that line: algebra "is not a spoken language like French or Spanish." It differs from the speech-versus-writing meaning, which picks out a use or variety, as in spoken Arabic, rather than the nature of the language itself.

4. 4
   adjective

   Expressing oneself in speech in the manner named by an attached modifier, as in soft-spoken or plain-spoken.

   The well-spoken candidate impressed the entire interview panel.

   Even when angry, she stayed soft-spoken and deliberate.

   Note

   A passive-looking form carries an active meaning here: a soft-spoken person speaks softly, and nothing is being spoken. It survives only as the second half of a compound (soft-spoken, well-spoken, plain-spoken, fair-spoken, nicely-spoken), and these are written with a hyphen. On its own, spoken does not mean "speaking." The first element always names the manner, whether gentle, polished, blunt or courteous.

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