oral(n = noun.communication) oral exam, oral examination, viva, viva voce - an examination conducted by spoken communication;
is a kind of exam, examination, test
Derived form adjective oral1
1. oral(s = adj.all) unwritten - using speech rather than writing; "an oral tradition"; "an oral agreement"
Derived form noun oral1
2. oral(a = adj.pert) - of or relating to or affecting or for use in the mouth; "oral hygiene"; "an oral thermometer"; "an oral vaccine"
3. oral(a = adj.all) - of or involving the mouth or mouth region or the surface on which the mouth is located; "the oral cavity"; "the oral mucous membrane"; "the oral surface of a starfish"
Antonym: aboral
4. oral(a = adj.all) - a 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;
Antonym: anal
1. Uttered by the mouth, or in words; spoken, not written; verbal; as, oral traditions; oral testimony; oral law. [1913 Webster]
2. Of or pertaining to the mouth; surrounding or lining the mouth; as, the oral cavity; oral cilia or cirri. [1913 Webster]
oral, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 by word of mouth; spoken; not written (the oral tradition).
2 done or taken by the mouth (oral contraceptive).
3 of the mouth.
4 Psychol. of or concerning a supposed stage of infant emotional and sexual development, in which the mouth is of central interest.
--n. colloq. a spoken examination, test, etc.
Idiom:
oral sex sexual activity in which the genitals of one partner are stimulated by the mouth of the other. oral society a society that has not reached the stage of literacy.
Derivative:
orally adv.
Etymology:
LL oralis f. L os oris mouth
N voice, vocality, organ, lungs, bellows, good voice, fine voice, powerful voice, musical voice, intonation, tone of voice, vocalization, cry, strain, utterance, prolation, exclamation, ejaculation, vociferation, ecphonesis, enunciation, articulation, articulate sound, distinctness, clearness, of articulation, stage whisper, delivery, accent, accentuation, emphasis, stress, broad accent, strong accent, pure accent, native accent, foreign accent, pronunciation, homonym, orthoepy, cacoepy, euphony, gastriloquism, ventriloquism, ventriloquist, polyphonism, polyphonist, phonology, vocal, phonetic, oral, ejaculatory, articulate, distinct, stertorous, euphonious, how sweetly sounds the voice of a good woman, the organ of the soul, thy voice is a celestial melody.
N speech, faculty of speech, locution, talk, parlance, verbal intercourse, prolation, oral communication, word of mouth, parole, palaver, prattle, effusion, oration, recitation, delivery, say, speech, lecture, harangue, sermon, tirade, formal speech, peroration, speechifying, soliloquy, allocution, conversation, salutatory : screed: valedictory, oratory, elocution, eloquence, rhetoric, declamation, grandiloquence, multiloquence, burst of eloquence, facundity, flow of words, command of words, command of language, copia verborum, power of speech, gift of the gab, usus loquendi, speaker, spokesman, prolocutor, interlocutor, mouthpiece, Hermes, orator, oratrix, oratress, Demosthenes, Cicero, rhetorician, stump orator, platform orator, speechmaker, patterer, improvisatore, speaking, spoken, oral, lingual, phonetic, not written, unwritten, outspoken, eloquent, elocutionary, oratorical, rhetorical, declamatory, grandiloquent, talkative, Ciceronian, nuncupative, Tullian, orally, by word of mouth, viva voce, from the lips of, quoth he, said he, action is eloquence, pour the full tide of eloquence along, she speaks poignards and every word stabs, speech is but broken light upon the depth of the u, to try thy eloquence now 'tis time.
oral cancer, oral cavity, oral communication, oral contraception, oral contraceptive, oral contraceptive pill, oral contract, oral exam, oral examination, oral fissure, oral herpes, oral personality, oral phase, oral poliovirus vaccine, oral presentation, oral roberts, oral sex, oral smear, oral stage, oral surgery, trivalent live oral poliomyelitis vaccine