rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryauditoryHearing
adjective

auditory

AW-duh-taw-ree/ˈɔːdətɔːri/

Relating to hearing.

The ringing bell provides an auditory stimulus that the man listens to closely.

A young adult East Asian man listens attentively to a small ringing handbell held near, but not touching, his visible ear, making hearing the clear focus.
Etymology
auditLatinto hear
+oryLatinrelating to

The hearing root becomes a descriptive adjective through the ending. Its connection remains literal: something auditory concerns hearing itself, the sense by which sound is perceived.

In context

Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art41:22
Upon hearing the end of every fibre of the auditory nerve is therefore set in sympathetic vibration by these incoming waves of sound.
British Art and Natural Forces: Unstable Boundaries, Ecologies

More examples

  • She learns well from auditory explanations.
  • The alarm provides an auditory warning when the door opens.
  • The study compares visual and auditory memory.

Similar words

acoustic
Often describes sound's physical properties or transmission.
aural
Closely overlaps but often emphasizes the ear or heard experience.