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| o·ral [ áwrəl ] |
adjective |
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| Definition: |
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1. of the mouth: relating to or belonging to the mouth
  oral hygiene
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2. for the mouth: designed for use in the mouth
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3. spoken: expressed in spoken form as distinct from written form
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4. administered by mouth: describes medicines that are taken by mouth
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5. phonetics with release of air through mouth: describes a speech sound that is produced by means of an airstream that escapes through the mouth only, with the nasal cavity sealed off by the velum.
See also nasaladj (sense 2)
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6. psychoanalysis deriving pleasure via mouth: in Freudian analysis, describes a stage in child development when erotic pleasure is derived from mouth-associated sensations, especially through feeding, thumb-sucking, and putting objects into the mouth
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7. psychoanalysis dependent and aggressive: in Freudian analysis, describes a dependent, selfish, and aggressive personality type with a tendency to derive pleasure from mouth-related activities such as eating, drinking, or smoking
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8. biology where mouth is sited: describes the surface of the body of an animal on which the mouth is situated, e.g. the underside of a starfish
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noun (plural o·rals) |
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| Definition: |
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1. education test requiring spoken answers: an examination or test that involves candidates giving spoken answers to spoken questions, as distinct from one where the questions and answers are in written form
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2. oral sex: oral sex, or an act of oral sex
(
slang
)
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| [Early 17th century. < late Latin oralis< Latin or-, stem of os "mouth"] |
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| o·ral·ly adverb |
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