sibilant
/'sibilənt/
Definition
Adjective:
- Characterized by a hissing sound: Describes a speech sound produced by forcing air through a narrow channel formed by the tongue and teeth or palate, creating a high-pitched, hissing noise.
Noun:
- A consonant with a hissing quality: A speech sound, specifically a consonant, that is produced with a continuous, turbulent airflow, resulting in a hissing or hushing sound.
Examples of Usage
- Adjective:
- The linguist analyzed the sibilant quality of the 's' sounds in the recording.
- A strong sibilant effect can sometimes cause distortion in audio recordings.
- Noun:
- The letters 's', 'z', 'sh', and 'zh' represent sibilants in English.
- Some languages have a wider variety of sibilants than others.
Advanced Usage
- Sibilance (n): The quality or state of being sibilant; a literary device where multiple sibilant sounds are used close together for a hissing effect.
- The poet used sibilance in the line "The silent snake slithered slowly" to create a sinister mood.
Variants and Related Words
- Sibilance (n): The use or occurrence of sibilant sounds.
- Sibilantly (adv): In a sibilant manner.
Synonyms
- Adjective: Hissing, fricative (in a broader phonetic sense).
- Noun: Fricative (a broader category that includes sibilants).
Notes on Different Meanings
The term is primarily technical and used within the fields of phonetics, linguistics, and audio engineering. Its core meaning relates directly to the acoustic and articulatory properties of specific speech sounds. There is no significant idiomatic or metaphorical use.
Adjective
-
of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then')
Noun
-
a consonant characterized by a hissing sound (like s or sh)
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