Meanings
oral1
- not comparablerelationalmedicineDone or taken by the mouth.
And most neurologists are in the habit of prescribing antispasticity drugs like tizanidine and baclofen, which are oral and inexpensive, but which cause drowsiness and weaken every muscle in the body, not just the target ones.
2009 March 17, Donald G. Mcneil Jr., “After a Stroke, Freeing Muscles With Botox”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 30 Jun 2017Synonyms: mouthly
- not comparablerelationalhuman sciencesRelating to or denoting a stage of infantile psychosexual development during which libidinal gratification is derived from intake (as of food), by sucking, and later by biting.
Synonyms: mouthly
- not comparablerelationalOf, relating to, or characterized by personality traits of passive dependency and aggressiveness.
Synonyms: mouthly
- not comparablerelationalSpoken rather than written.
an oral French exam
1 more example
an oral presentation
- not comparablerelationalRelating to the transmission of information or literature by word of mouth.
plural orals
- countableA spoken test or examination, particularly in a language class.
We've got our Spanish oral tomorrow.
- countableplural normallyA physical examination of the mouth.
- abbreviationellipsisinformaluncountableEllipsis of oral sex.
I gave my boyfriend oral for the first time on his birthday.
- abbreviationcountableellipsisbodybuildingEllipsis of oral steroid.
Oral2
- A male given name from Latin of American usage
Oral3
- A city in Kazakhstan.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveRelating to the mouth.
adjectiveDone or taken by the mouth.
adjectivePronounced by the voice resonating in the mouth, as the vowels in English.
adjectiveRelating to or denoting a stage of infantile psychosexual development during which libidinal gratification is derived from intake (as of food), by sucking, and later by biting.
adjectiveOf, relating to, or characterized by personality traits of passive dependency and aggressiveness.
adjectiveRelating to the transmission of information or literature by word of mouth.
adjectiveUsing speech or the lips especially in teaching the deaf.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveof or involving the mouth or mouth region or the surface on which the mouth is located
adjectivea stage in psychosexual development when the child's interest is concentrated in the mouth; fixation at this stage is said to result in dependence, selfishness, and aggression
nounan examination conducted by spoken communication
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
oral · adjective, noun
- Late Latinōrālis
- Englishoral
PIE word *h₁óh₃s Early 17th century borrowing from Late Latin ōrālis, from ōs (“the mouth”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).
More words from Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Oral · proper noun
- LatinAurelius
- EnglishOral
Ultimately from Latin Aurelius.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Oral · proper noun
- KazakhОрал
- KazakhОрал
- EnglishOral
Borrowed from Kazakh Орал (Oral).
More words from Kazakh
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans oraal, oraal
- oraalrelating to the mouth
- oraalspoken
Arabic فَمَوِيّ, شَفَهِيّ
- فَمَوِيّ (famawiyy)relating to the mouth
- شَفَهِيّ (šafahiyy)spoken
- شَفَوِيّ (šafawiyy)spoken
- مَنْطُوق (manṭūq)spoken
Bulgarian у́стен, на уста́та
- у́стен (ústen)relating to the mouth
- на уста́та (na ustáta)relating to the mouth
- у́стен (ústen)spoken
- слове́сен (slovésen)spoken
Catalan oral, bucal
- oralrelating to the mouth
- bucalrelating to the mouth
- oralspoken
- verbalspoken
Chinese Mandarin 口服, 口的
- 口服 (kǒufú)taken by the mouth
- 口的 (kǒu de)relating to the mouth
- 口腔的 (kǒuqiāng de)relating to the mouth
- 口頭 /口头 (kǒutóu)spoken
- 口語的 /口语的 (kǒuyǔ de)spoken
- 口述的 (kǒushù de)spoken
Czech ústní, orální
- ústnírelating to the mouth
- orálnírelating to the mouth
- ústníspoken
Danish mundtlig
- mundtligspoken
Dutch mondelijk, oraal
- mondelijkrelating to the mouth
- oraalrelating to the mouth
- oraalspoken
- mondelingspoken
Esperanto buŝa, parola
- buŝarelating to the mouth
- parolaspoken
Finnish suu-, suun
- suu-relating to the mouth
- suunrelating to the mouth
- oraalinenrelating to the mouth
- suullinenspoken
French oral, buccal
- oralrelating to the mouth
- buccalrelating to the mouth
- oralspoken
German oral, mündlich
- oralrelating to the mouth
- mündlichspoken
Greek στοματικός, προφορικός
- στοματικός (stomatikós)relating to the mouth
- προφορικός (proforikós)spoken
Hungarian orális, szóbeli
- orálisrelating to the mouth
- szóbelispoken
Icelandic munnlegur
- munnlegurspoken
Indonesian lisan
- lisanrelating to the mouth
Italian orale, orale
- oralerelating to the mouth
- oralespoken
Japanese 口頭の, 口伝
- 口頭の (kōtō no)relating to the mouth
- 口伝 (kuden)spoken
- 口述 (kōjutsu)spoken
- 口頭 (kōtō)spoken
Korean 구두의, 입의
- 구두의 (gudu-ui)relating to the mouth
- 입의 (ib-ui)relating to the mouth
- 구전 (gujeon)spoken
- 구술 (gusul)spoken
- 구두 (gudu)spoken
Lithuanian oralinis
- oralinisrelating to the mouth
Norwegian Bokmål muntlig
- muntligspoken
Polish doustny, ustny
- doustnytaken by the mouth
- ustnyrelating to the mouth
- oralnyrelating to the mouth
- ustnyspoken
- oralnyspoken
- Uralskcity in Kazakhstan
Portuguese oral, oral
- oralrelating to the mouth
- oralspoken
Romanian oral, oral
- oralrelating to the mouth
- oralspoken
Russian ротово́й, ора́льный
- ротово́й (rotovój)relating to the mouth
- ора́льный (orálʹnyj)relating to the mouth
- у́стный (ústnyj)spoken
- слове́сный (slovésnyj)spoken
- Ура́льск (Urálʹsk)city in Kazakhstan
- Ора́л (Orál)city in Kazakhstan
Slovak ústný, orálny
- ústnýrelating to the mouth
- orálnyrelating to the mouth
- ústnyspoken
Spanish oral, bucal
- oralrelating to the mouth
- bucalrelating to the mouth
- bocalrelating to the mouth
- oralspoken
Swedish muntlig, muntlig
- muntligrelating to the mouth
- muntligspoken
Tagalog bunganga
- bungangarelating to the mouth
Turkish sözlü, Oral
- sözlüspoken
- Oralcity in Kazakhstan
Ukrainian ротови́й, ора́льний
- ротови́й (rotovýj)relating to the mouth
- ора́льний (orálʹnyj)relating to the mouth
- у́сний (úsnyj)spoken
- слове́сний (slovésnyj)spoken
- Ора́л (Orál)city in Kazakhstan
- Ура́льськ (Urálʹsʹk)city in Kazakhstan
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with oral
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
oral. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oral
“oral.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oral. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oral,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oral.
Source: oral on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.