as in ballads
a short musical composition for the human voice often with instrumental accompaniment
a recording artist who arranges his own vocals
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of vocals
In 1977, Vandross introduced Anderson to Rodgers and his writing partner Bernard Edwards, who were forming the then-new group, Chic, with Tony Thompson on drums and Norma Jean Wright on lead vocals.
—
Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 23 Dec. 2024
As the string instruments begin to play, the star looks around before launching into the lyrics, showing off her vocals.
—Anna Chan, Billboard, 23 Dec. 2024
Along with the obviously wonderful vocals, there’s so much alchemy with the great instrumental parts by the Funk Brothers, with James Jamerson on bass and Robert White on guitar, contributing these incredible musical licks.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Dec. 2024
Chic dissolved shortly after, but Anderson went on to sing backing vocals on many of the songs Rodgers wrote and produced, including ones by Diana Ross, Johnny Mathis, Bryan Adams, and Mick Jagger.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 23 Dec. 2024
The orchestral arrangement buoys her performance, with Bunton’s vocals at the fore.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2024
The difference was remarkable—Lisa’s vocals stood out in the mix and delivered exceptional clarity.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
But in 2023 a brand new song Now and Then was compiled from a demo track left behind by Lennon, including vocals by Lennon and guitar by Harrison, so the four appeared together on vinyl one last time, much to fans’ delight.
—Caroline Frost, Deadline, 21 Dec. 2024
Icky Thump, their sixth and final studio album, won best alternative music album and the title track took home the award for best rock performance by a duo or group with vocals at the 50th annual Grammys.
—Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 10 Dec. 2024
Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 23 Dec. 2024
As the string instruments begin to play, the star looks around before launching into the lyrics, showing off her vocals.
—Anna Chan, Billboard, 23 Dec. 2024
Along with the obviously wonderful vocals, there’s so much alchemy with the great instrumental parts by the Funk Brothers, with James Jamerson on bass and Robert White on guitar, contributing these incredible musical licks.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Dec. 2024
Chic dissolved shortly after, but Anderson went on to sing backing vocals on many of the songs Rodgers wrote and produced, including ones by Diana Ross, Johnny Mathis, Bryan Adams, and Mick Jagger.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 23 Dec. 2024
The orchestral arrangement buoys her performance, with Bunton’s vocals at the fore.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2024
The difference was remarkable—Lisa’s vocals stood out in the mix and delivered exceptional clarity.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
But in 2023 a brand new song Now and Then was compiled from a demo track left behind by Lennon, including vocals by Lennon and guitar by Harrison, so the four appeared together on vinyl one last time, much to fans’ delight.
—Caroline Frost, Deadline, 21 Dec. 2024
Icky Thump, their sixth and final studio album, won best alternative music album and the title track took home the award for best rock performance by a duo or group with vocals at the 50th annual Grammys.
—Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 10 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vocals
Noun
-
Brown-Cepeda, who is from northern Manhattan and has family in the Dominican Republic, said the plaza is known as a source of joy, where people dance to heart-wrenching ballads of bachata artists and upbeat accordions of regional Dominican music.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
12 Apr. 2025
-
But the emotional disconnect is impossible to overcome in a show that's almost entirely sentimental ballads.—
Shania Russell,
EW.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Then there are also so many quintessential pop hits and Top 40 songs that blow it through the roof.—
Liza Lentini,
SPIN,
27 Dec. 2024
-
While 143—now titled 1432—and the several singles that were spun off of the project are nowhere to be found on the charts in the United Kingdom at the moment, Perry does appear on multiple rankings in the country that focus only on popular songs.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Lawson not only conceived the tribute project and created its cover art (strips of Velvet song lyrics collaged into the shape of a bird in flight) but used to perform with Velvet and has a rare understanding of his songwriting style.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
12 Apr. 2025
-
Their music taught me how to put lyrics to the feeling of love.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vocals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vocals. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share