Word Confusion: Aural vs Oral vs Verbal

Posted May 14, 2018 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
1 Sept 2022

Pinterest pin for Aural vs Oral vs Verbal

I ran across aural and got to wondering how I could have left this critical word out of the original post on “Oral versus Verbal” . . . duh . . . So I’ve redone the post to add it.

Now, aural and oral can sound similar, especially if one isn’t paying attention. For aural, think more of an aura while I mostly think Oreo! when I’m pronouncing oral. Damn, now I’m hungry . . . snack break time!

I’m back . . .

So oral and verbal are all about the mouth while aural is all about the ear, i.e., listening. Ya gotta have those aural listening skills if you want to comprehend the oral of someone verbalizing.

I got to thinking about the end of school and all those tests. Oral tests. Verbal skills. Or is that verbal tests and oral skills . . . hmmm, maybe we don’t need to go into those “oral skills” . . .

And with luck, that bit of innuendo will help remind you that oral is both spoken and involving the mouth. You can talk, brush your teeth, take a drink, wash down some pills, eat a hamburger, anything you can use your mouth for or put in your mouth is considered oral.

Technically, when it comes to talking, oral is the proper word when anything is “spoken”. Verbal is proper when speaking or writing with words. Just don’t put any words in my mouth . . . Oreos now . . .

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Aural vs Oral vs Verbal” interesting, consider tweeting it to your friends. Subscribe to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

Return to top

Aural	Oral	Verbal
Headphones with no machine-readable author provided. PJ assumed (based on copyright claims). It’s under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Headphones are a very useful aural device.	Oh Yeah, Flirt is by Originals via GIPHY. — Looks like she’s engaging in oral and physical exercise.	Antique Radio, Coffee, Newspaper has no machine-readable author provided. AurigaM36 assumed (based on copyright claims). It is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — A newspaper communicates verbally via the written word while the radio does so verbally through the spoken.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective ¹, ²	Adjective; Noun Plural for the noun: orals	Adjective; Noun Plural for the noun: verbals
Of or relating to the ear or the sense of hearing ¹ Of or relating to a distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place ²	Adjective: By word of mouth Spoken rather than written Relating to the transmission of information or literature by word of mouth rather than in writing [Of a society] Not having reached the stage of literacy Of, relating to, or involving the mouth Done, taken, or administered by the mouth [Phonetics; of a speech sound] Pronounced by the voice resonating in the mouth [Psychoanalysis; in Freudian theory] Relating to or denoting a stage of infantile psychosexual development in which the mouth is the main source of pleasure and the center of experience [Zoology] Pertaining to that surface of polyps and marine animals that contains the mouth and tentacles Noun: [Often orals] A spoken examination or test in a school, college, or university, given especially to a candidate for an advanced degree	Adjective: Relating to or in the form of words Spoken rather than written Oral Tending to talk a lot Consisting of, expressed, or in the form of words Pertaining to or concerned with words only (as opposed to ideas, facts, or realities) Corresponding word for word Verbatim Based on the use of words (as opposed to other activity) [Grammar] Relating to or derived from a verb Used in a sentence as or like a verb, as participles and infinitives Noun: A word or words functioning as a verb A verbal noun A verbal gerund A verbal participle Further explore this range of verbal nouns at gerunds and infinitives, or participles.
Examples:
The information is held in written, aural, or database form. It’s an animal with a very sensitive aural apparatus. Have you had the test on aural anatomy yet? His aural skills certainly are lacking. ‘Another option is a digital aural thermometer that measures the temperature in the ear. Without doubt, especially during training, aural and other forms of fine sensory feedback are needed. Sellers faced an even bigger hurdle: He was moving from an aural medium to a visual one. Questions were geared both to general knowledge and to specific points requiring the use of visual and aural memory. Techwitches are a relatively new classification, but are readily distinguishable by their metallic aural glow and their love of all things tech. Symbolism means the use of an symbol, whether in a visual or aural way, to represent another meaning.	Adjective: They had reached an oral agreement. You’re scheduled to give your oral testimony in the morning. Their tribe has a large body of oral literature. Ours is a society with an oral tradition. Between the ages of 7 and 8 years old, the child can read simple, familiar stories and selections with increasing fluency with instruction that includes repeated and monitored oral reading. Wow, that’s some really bad oral hygiene. Patients with anxiety disorders may disregard their oral health altogether and are at an increased risk for dental caries, periodontal disease, and bruxism. Are you still taking those oral contraceptives? An oral speech sound is made by allowing air to escape from the mouth, as opposed to the nose. That Jeremy has such an oral fixation. The female preference regarding oral sex depends upon the individual woman while the male simply wants that bj. Noun: He was preparing for his orals. It was to be a French oral. She would have to defend her thesis in the orals.	Adjective: The root of the problem is visual rather than verbal. That’s verbal abuse, you jerk! I thought we had a verbal agreement. He’s very verbal. Those verbal adjectives can be created from participles or infinitives. He has the verbal ability to make you believe anything. It was the most amazing verbal imagery. I could practically smell the forest. Jenny prefers a verbal communication between us. He registered a verbal protest. It was a purely verbal distinction between two concepts. It was an off-the-cuff verbal translation. It was a superb example of quick verbal facility. What was your verbal score in the test? A dog has a higher verbal IQ than him. Noun: Competitors stood on the podium and medalled. Athletes finalled their event. I’ll second that. Reading is my passion. Smoking is prohibited. Walking is good exercise. Legend: Green indicates the verbal noun
Derivatives:
Adjective: aurally-challenged, circumaural, intra-aural, intraaural, supra-aural, supraural, Adverb: aurally	Adjective: nonoral, oral-formulaic, oralist, postoral Adverb: nonorally, orally Noun: oralism, oralist, orality	Adjective: interverbal, nonverbal, preverbal, subverbal, unverbal Adverb: nonverbally, unverbally, verbally Noun: verbality
History of the Word:
Mid-19th century, from the Latin auris meaning ear + -al. First recorded in 1865–70, aur(a) + -al.	Early 17th century, from the late Latin oralis, which is from the Latin os, or- meaning mouth.	Late 15th century, as in describing a person who deals with words rather than things, from the French or from the late Latin verbalis, from verbum meaning word (see verb).

Return to top

C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

Return to top