/ fəˈnetɪk; NAmE / adjective
1.
using special symbols to represent each different speech sound :
the International Phonetic Alphabet
a phonetic symbol / transcription
2.
( of a spelling or spelling system ) that closely matches the sounds represented :
Spanish spelling is phonetic, unlike English spelling.
3.
connected with the sounds of human speech
► phon·et·ic·al·ly / -kli; NAmE / adverb
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WORD ORIGIN
early 19th cent.: from modern Latin phoneticus , from Greek phōnētikos , from phōnein speak.