Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Unpleasantly loud and harsh in sound: Describes a sound that is grating, jarring, or piercing to the ear.
   • Forcefully and unpleasantly attention-grabbing or insistent: Describes a manner, tone, or demand that is aggressively and often offensively loud or persistent.
   • (Linguistics) Of a speech sound: Produced by forcing air through a narrow channel, creating a high-frequency, turbulent noise (e.g., the sounds /f/, /s/, /ʃ/ as in 'ship').

Examples of Usage

• Describing a sound:
  • The strident noise of the alarm made it impossible to sleep.
  • Her voice became strident when she was angry.
• Describing a manner or criticism:
  • The politician faced strident opposition from the press.
  • He made a strident demand for immediate action.

Advanced Usage

• "Strident tone": A harsh, forceful, and often aggressive way of speaking.
  • The manager's strident tone during the meeting intimidated the staff.
• "Strident advocacy": Forceful and uncompromising support for a cause, which can be perceived as harsh.
  • Her strident advocacy for the policy alienated potential allies.

Variants and Related Words

• Stridency (noun): The quality of being strident.
  • The stridency of the debate was exhausting.
• Stridently (adverb): In a strident manner.
  • She argued stridently for her position.

Synonyms

• Shrill: High-pitched and piercing (often for sounds or voices).
• Blatant: Completely obvious and offensively loud or conspicuous.
• Vociferous: Expressing feelings or opinions in a very loud or forceful way.
• Raucous: Loud and harsh; rowdy.

Antonyms

• Melodious: Pleasant-sounding.
• Soft: Not loud or harsh; gentle.
• Subdued: Quiet and restrained.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "A strident voice": Often used metaphorically to describe someone who is a loud, forceful, and often harsh advocate.
  • He was a strident voice for reform in the industry.

Adjective

1. unpleasantly loud and harsh
2. being sharply insistent on being heard
   • strident demands
   • shrill criticism
3. of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then')
4. conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry
   • blatant radios
   • a clamorous uproar
   • strident demands
   • a vociferous mob