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Glite Dictionary
💸 Lacking money 👃 Nasal sound 🤏 Squeezed tightly 😣 Thin and drawn
pinched

pinched

8.0
A tight voice that sounds like your nose is blocked
  • adjective
  • /pɪnʧt/
translation icon : nasal
  • When she spoke in a pinched voice, it was clear she was feeling unwell.

So it was just sort of my voice pinched up a little bit.

Examples

  • His singing had a pinched quality that made it hard to listen to.

  • So it was just sort of my voice pinched up a little bit.

    Vanity Fair

  • The child asked in a pinched tone, wanting to know what was for dinner.

Synonyms

nasal
vspinched
8 4.2

Having a sound that seems to come through the nose when it is blocked

is tighter and more constricted, sounding as if the nose were squeezed shut
adenoidal
vspinched
  • Specialized
1 9.6

Having a nasal voice as if the nose is blocked

is more squeezed and narrow in tone, not only caused by blockage
strained
vspinched
4.2

Appearing not natural and tense, often like a forced smile

is produced by a squeezed nose quality rather than by vocal tension

Antonyms

clear
40 1.0

Pure and distinct in sound or colour

unconstricted
6.7

Has no tightness and allows free movement of air, blood, or feelings

How Constricted

strangled
6.7
pinched
8.0
nasal
8 4.2
thin
221 5.2
clear
40 1.0

Surface Forms

pinched positive
pinched positive

Morphology

pinched = pinch (transparent) = pinch + ed

The vocal quality meaning is directly inferable from 'pinch' (constricted/squeezed) + '-ed'.

Etymology

Pinched comes from the verb pinch, which means 'to squeeze' between finger and thumb. A helpful image is the nose being squeezed shut — a 'pinched' voice sounds tight and nasal because the air and sound seem squeezed inside the head.