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tinnily

tinnily

8.4
A thin, high sound that rings like metal
  • adverb
  • /ˈtɪnəli/
translation icon : metálicamente
  • The toy keyboard emitted notes tinnily, resembling the sound of old-fashioned electronic music.

Examples

  • The music played tinnily through the small speakers, making it hard to enjoy.

  • Cattle bells clinked tinnily, the animals themselves invisible in the gray air, which was thick as wadded cotton.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Rap music beat tinnily from the headphones hanging around his neck.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Nirvana seeps tinnily out of the car window.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • [music continues tinnily over ear buds]

  • "Her giggle rattled tinnily down the wire.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Leaking tinnily through the headset, we hear the opening bars of "Comin' Up Around the Bend."

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Leaking tinnily through the headphones, we can just hear an intermittent clatter.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The newscaster's voice was buzzing tinnily in my ear about an uprising in South Africa, and for a disoriented second, I thought there was someone in the room with me.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • As she spoke, her voice came out tinnily, sounding artificial and distant.

Synonyms

metallically
vstinnily
6.0

In a way that sounds or looks like metal

is thinner or more artificial in sound rather than purely metal
glassily
vstinnily
7.5

In a clear, high, ringing way like glass

is thinner or more metallic in sound rather than clear high pitched ringing

Surface Forms

tinnily positive

Morphology

tinnily = tinny (transparent) = tinny + ly

The adverb is transparently derived from the adjective 'tinny' using the standard adverbial suffix '-ly'.

Etymology

The word tinnily comes from the metal tin and the adverb ending -ly, and tin makes a light, high, metallic sound like a small bell or a tin can. So, to say something sounds tinnily is to say it sounds 'thin', 'metallic', or a little 'artificial'.