sibilant
2
7.9
- adjective
- /ˈsɪbələnt/
- Specialized
:
sibilante
- I hear her reciting each letter in sibilant tones.
- sibilant sounds
- sibilant contrast
- sibilant variation
The marsh is a sea of silver green grasses, and the wind ripples the grass with a sibilant sound like bed sheets tearing.
- The marsh is a sea of silver green grasses, and the wind ripples the grass with a sibilant sound like bed sheets tearing.
Examples
-
Last night I was awakened from a fitful sleep... shortly after 2:00 in the morning... by a shrill, sibilant, faceless voice.
-
"Divorce," he might say, "separate," "split," one of those sibilant "S" words, cold as the knife steel.
Fiction book (1997) -
Our focus on the sibilant /s/ is based on several considerations.
Academic text (2013) -
All around were footsteps, moans, and the sibilant whispers of the spirits of the trees.
Fiction book (1992) -
Out of the depths came a dark, whispery, sibilant sound like rough scales rustling over stones.
Fiction book (2001) -
The sound of the wind through the trees was a soft, sibilant whisper that calmed her nerves.
-
The singer used a sibilant tone for the final notes, creating a mesmerizing effect in the performance.
-
As the snake slid through the grass, it made a sibilant sound that alerted nearby animals.
Compounds
Surface Forms
Morphology
sibilant = sibilate (semi-transparent) = sibil + ant
The adjective is formed with the productive suffix '-ant' giving 'hissing'; the root 'sibil-' is a combining form not known as a standalone English word, so the relation is not fully transparent for learners.
Etymology
Sibilant comes from the Latin verb sibilare, which means 'to hiss'. So sibilant describes a sound that 'hisses', like the sounds 's', 'sh', or 'z'.