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Glite Dictionary
🎶 Thin high sound 🌾 Thin and tall
reedy

reedy

2 7.2
Thin, high sound like a clarinet
  • adjective
  • /ˈriːdi/
translation icon : agudo
  • His voice was high and reedy, like a dog stuck under a fence.
  • reedy voice
  • reedy tenor
  • reedy tones

Examples

  • A fruit seller passed by, calling out in a reedy voice, "Sweet, sweet mangoes."

    Fiction book (1995)

  • His voice seemed to come from somewhere else, reedy and uncertain.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Oh, God, that thin, reedy little voice!

    Same Time, Next Year (1978)

  • Not grand," said a reedy voice from nowhere, "but it does me.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • "What's all this noise in the hall?" a high, reedy voice asks.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Her voice was thin and reedy now that her throat was no more solid than the rest of her.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • "Hello in there," the boy ventured in his thin, high, reedy voice.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "I don't know." Her voice was reedy with panic.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • "You are late, Mr. Landstatter," Lord Ammene said in a reedy voice.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • She sang in a reedy voice that reminded everyone of the sound of a flute.

Synonyms

wheezy
vsreedy
1 7.0

Having a high, breathy sound like an old accordion

is thinner and clearer in tone, giving a pure high brightness
flutey
vsreedy
7.4

Having a clear, high, sweet sound like a small pipe you blow into

is thinner and more piercing in tone with a sharper edge
fluted
vsreedy
5.6

A clear, pleasant sound like a flute

is thinner and higher in tone, lacking smooth melodic quality

Antonyms

deep
99 3.1

Having a low, strong sound, like a voice or instrument

rich
36 2.3

Deep and full in color or sound

How Thin

piercing
2 5.5
shrill
31 4.8
reedy
2 7.2
thin
221 5.2
mellow
46 3.9

Surface Forms

reedy positive

Morphology

reedy = reed (semi-transparent) = reed + y

The voice meaning is a metaphorical extension ('having a tone like a reed instrument') so the relation to 'reed' is not strictly literal though still inferable.

Etymology

Reedy comes from the plant reed, which is used in some musical instruments and gives a thin, high sound. So a reedy voice or sound is 'thin' and 'high', like the tone of a clarinet or oboe.