adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Ellipsis of pharyngeal consonant (“a sound that is articulated with the pharynx”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
2. 2
   a consonant articulated in the back of the mouth or throat wordnet

Adjective

1. 1
   Of or pertaining to the pharynx. not-comparable
2. 2
   Articulated with the pharynx; a term usually describing a consonant which is articulated by the rear area of the tongue being raised to below the region between the uvula and the pharyngeal wall. The term cannot apply to a plosive or stop consonant. not-comparable

Adjective

1. 1
   of or relating to the throat wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

gutturalaccentedallophonealveolarapicalapico-alveolar

Example

More examples

"Pharyngeal sounds are made in the pharynx."

Etymology

From Late Latin pharyngeus + -al, from pharynx (“the pharynx”) + -eus (adjectival suffix).

Related phrases

ascending pharyngeal arteryinferior pharyngeal constrictormiddle pharyngeal constrictorpharyngeal archpharyngeal basketpharyngeal bonepharyngeal constrictorpharyngeal glandpharyngeal jawpharyngeal jawspharyngeal plexuspharyngeal reflex

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.