How to Use pharyngeal in a Sentence

pharyngeal

adjective
  • Most fish use a second set of jaws in their throats—the pharyngeal jaws—to crush and grind their prey.
    — National Geographic, 13 Sep. 2016
  • Oral jaws are used to capture prey, while pharyngeal jaws located in the back of the mouth are used to chew and swallow.
    — Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 17 Nov. 2021
  • The creature only appears an hour into the film, first glimpsed as saliva-like goo and then as pharyngeal jaws that shoot out from its mouth.
    — J.b., The Economist, 5 Sep. 2019
  • Healthcare providers diagnosed the man with a pharyngeal rupture.
    — Health Editorial Team, Health, 10 Nov. 2023
  • Their oral jaws are used to capture and crush prey while their pharyngeal jaws, which are positioned in their throats, are used to chew their food and move it from their mouths to the stomach.
    — New York Times, 3 Nov. 2021
  • The posterior pharyngeal muscles at the back of the throat are innervated by the vagus nerve.
    — Allison Palmer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 May 2026
  • It was tested by manipulating a tongue depressor around the uvula, soft palate, and pharyngeal vault.
    — Ncbi Rofl, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2010
  • So over the course of evolution, the larynx in the human line has moved lower in our throats, opening up a much larger pharyngeal cavity than found in other primates.
    — Louis-Jean Boë, The Conversation, 11 Dec. 2019
  • Recognizable by their strong pharyngeal teeth used to crush mollusc shells, black carps can significantly impact local ecosystems by feeding on mussels and snails, and competing with other native benthic fishes like smallmouth buffalo.
    — Cheyenne Derksen, Oklahoman, 18 Mar. 2026
  • As a central nervous system depressant, alcohol suppresses the already-fragile neuromuscular tone of the pharyngeal dilators, pushing a vulnerable airway closer to collapse.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pharyngeal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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