Definition

Adjective: 1. Pronounced with a rapid vibration of the tongue or uvula: Describes a speech sound, especially the consonant 'r', that is articulated with a quick, repeated fluttering motion of the tongue tip against the roof of the mouth or the uvula against the back of the tongue.

Usage

The word "trilled" is used to describe a specific manner of articulation in phonetics. It modifies nouns related to speech sounds, such as "r," "consonant," or "pronunciation." * It is most commonly applied to the letter 'r' in languages like Spanish, Italian, or Scottish English. * It describes the quality of a sound that has been produced, not the act of producing it.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • Her trilled 'r' gave her accent an authentic Italian sound.
  • The phonetics class practiced producing a trilled alveolar consonant.
  • In some dialects, a trilled 'r' is used at the beginning of words.

Advanced Usage

• Linguistic Description: In technical linguistic or phonetic descriptions, "trilled" precisely categorizes a sound produced by airstream causing an articulator to vibrate rhythmically.
  • The IPA symbol [r] represents the alveolar trilled consonant.

Variants and Related Words

• Trill (noun): The speech sound produced by a trill.
  • The Spanish word "perro" contains an alveolar trill.
• Trill (verb): To pronounce a sound with a trill.
  • He can trill his 'r's perfectly.
• Rolling (adjective): Often used interchangeably with "trilled" when describing the 'r' sound.
  • He spoke with a rolling Scottish 'r'.

Synonyms

• Rolled: (especially for the 'r' sound)
• Vibrated: (in a general phonetic sense)

Antonyms

• Tapped: (a single, quick contact, not a sustained vibration)
• Fricative: (produced by forcing air through a narrow channel, creating friction, not vibration)
• Approximant: (produced with articulators approaching each other but not causing turbulence)

Adjective

1. uttered with a trill
   • she used rolling r's as in Spanish