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Glite Dictionary
earsplitting

earsplitting

6.3
Very loud in a way that hurts your ears
  • adjective
  • /ˈɪrˌsplɪtɪŋ/
translation icon : ensordecedor
  • When the fire alarm went off, its earsplitting noise sent everyone rushing for the exits.

Examples

  • There is a powerful, earsplitting whistle.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The dog would have preferred that Lex never sleep in his own bed again, for the dog, in his elaborate, non-touching, earsplitting, bald way, loved Susan.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The concert ended with an earsplitting finale that left the audience both thrilled and temporarily deafened.

  • After the explosion, all we could hear was an earsplitting ringing in our ears.

Synonyms

loud
vsearsplitting
733 1.0

Having a very strong, high sound

describes extreme pain and possible temporary hearing loss rather than mere volume
thunderous
vsearsplitting
15 4.1

A very loud, deep sound like thunder

is more about sharp pain and hearing risk than deep powerful sound
deafening
vsearsplitting
9 3.5

An extremely loud sound that makes it hard to hear or causes temporary loss of hearing

is louder in causing pain rather than only harming hearing
ear-piercing
vsearsplitting
1 4.1

Very loud, high sound that hurts your ears

emphasizes pain and risk of hearing loss rather than high sharpness
blaring
vsearsplitting
1 4.4

A very loud, unpleasant sound that hurts your ears

focuses on causing pain or hearing loss rather than only harshness
overloud
vsearsplitting
3.4

Too noisy in a way that annoys or disturbs people

tends to stress actual harm to ears rather than mere disruption

Antonyms

quiet
∞ 1.0

Not making much noise

soft
  • Specialized
12 4.2

Made by vibrating the vocal cords

How Loud

earsplitting
6.3
loud
733 1.0
faint
148 2.7

Surface Forms

earsplitting positive

Morphology

earsplitting = ear + split (transparent) = ear + split + ing

The compound ear + split + -ing conveys the intuitive meaning 'so loud as to split the ears', i.e., extremely loud.

Etymology

The word earsplitting joins ear and split, creating a strong image of a sound so loud it feels like it would 'split' your ear. So, earsplitting means very loud or even painfully loud.