1. to pronounce (a sound) with the tongue against or near the teeth; to articulate as a dental consonant
Usage: linguistics, phonetics

Examples

• In some languages, speakers dentalize the /t/ sound by placing the tongue between the teeth.
• The linguist explained how certain dialects dentalize their consonants differently than standard speech.
• Children learning to speak may dentalize sounds before developing more precise articulation.
• The researcher studied how speakers dentalize fricatives in casual conversation.