Word Confusion: Allowed versus Aloud

Third person present verb: allows
Past tense or past participle: allowed
Gerund or present participle: allowing

Verb, intransitive:
Give the necessary time or opportunity for

• [allow for] Make provision or provide scope for something
• [allow for] Take (something) into consideration when making plans or calculations:

To permit something to happen or to exist

• [Often followed by of] Admit

Verb, transitive:
[With infinitive] Give (someone) permission to do something

• Permit (someone) to have (something)
• Permit (someone) to enter a place or go in a particular direction
• Admit (an event or activity) as legal or acceptable

Give the necessary time or opportunity for

• Provide or set aside (a specified amount of something) for a specific purpose

Give as one’s share

• Grant as one’s right

To permit by neglect, oversight, or the like

To take into consideration, as by adding or subtracting

• Set apart

[Older use] To say

• Think

[Archaic] To approve

• Sanction

Verb, reporting:
Admit the truth of

• Concede
• Acknowledge
• [North American; informal or dialect] Assert
• Be of the opinion

• Not in a whisper

[British] In a spoken voice

• Not silently

[Archaic] In a loud voice

Adverb:
Audibly

• With the normal tone and volume of the speaking voice, as distinguished from whisperingly
• Vocally, as distinguished from mentally

[Archaic] Loudly

• With a loud voice

“Certain ranges of energies between two such allowed bands are called forbidden bands, i.e., electrons within the solid may not possess these energies” (Allowed Band).

” Allowed transitions are those that have high probability of occurring, as in the case of short-lived radioactive decay of atomic nuclei” (Editors).

Verb, intransitive:
My household duties were too many to allow of a visit to the hospital.

The house was demolished to allow for road widening.

Income rose by 11 percent, allowing for inflation.

He spent more than he was allowed.

She allowed that she might have been too suspicious.

Verb, transitive:
The dissident was allowed to leave the country.

He was allowed his first sip of Scotch and soda.

The river was patrolled and few people were allowed across.

The village allowed Sunday shopping.

Helen allowed two inches extra for shrinkage.

There is a reservoir with no hunting or overnight camping allowed.

They agreed to a ceasefire to allow talks with the government.

He stopped for a moment to allow his eyes to adjust.

We allowed an hour or so for driving.

They allowed him $100 for expenses.

Someone allowed this door to remain open.

Father allowed this could have happened.

We allowed he’s straight.

You’re allowed to fish here.

Verb, reporting:
He allowed that the penalty appeared too harsh for the crime.

“Could happen,” she allowed indifferently.

Lincoln allowed that he himself could never support the man.

I allowed he was right.

Mother allowed that we’d better come in for dinner.

“A delightful tale to read aloud with adorable characters” (The Sun).

“Remember to say his name aloud” (Sunday Times).

Adverb:
Proud of himself and unable to contain his joy, he began to read the letter aloud.

It’s an error in judgment so colossal that it can’t even be whispered aloud.

A mantra is the name of a sacred deity or a sacred phrase that you repeat silently or aloud.

He was humming the song aloud and loudly, louder in fact than any man would have hummed it had he expected to bump into another human being.

She wept aloud, the room filled with her cries of pain.

Miranda was weeping aloud with the infant in her arms, as was Alannis standing beside her young lord.

They could not speak aloud in the library.

1. allow + -ed
2. Middle English, originally in the senses commend, sanction and assign as a right from the Old French alouer, which is from the Latin allaudare meaning to praise and reinforced by the medieval Latin allocare meaning to place.