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Glite Dictionary
🎹 Raspy sound 😮‍💨 Noisy breathing
wheezy

wheezy

1 7.0
Having a high, breathy sound like an old accordion
  • adjective
  • /ˈwiːzi/
translation icon : ronco
  • His voice sounded thin and wheezy, making it hard to hear what he was saying.

She got the ring and a wheezy feature at the same damn time.

Examples

  • "He is Jack of distant Del Mar." "Yes, I know the place," Manny said in a wheezy voice.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • When he spoke, his voice sounded wheezy and unnatural.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • I'd love to get little wheezy to react to this on the go list for sure, but he's so happy to be there.

  • On the Sabbaths, she played a wheezy old organ to accompany the hymns.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • After his cold, he often had a wheezy cough that reminded everyone of a reed instrument.

  • The old man's laughter was a faint, wheezy sound that echoed through the quiet room.

Synonyms

squeaky
vswheezy
67 1.3

Making a high, sharp sound like a mouse or hinge

is breathier and coarser, resembling an instrument rather than a sharp shriek
reedy
vswheezy
2 7.2

Thin, high sound like a clarinet

is breathier and coarser, not just a thin reed-like tone
wheezing
vswheezy
6.1

A high whistling or rough sound that you make when breathing is hard

describes a similar breathy instrument-like tone not produced by breathing

Antonyms

clear
40 1.0

Pure and distinct in sound or colour

How Breathy

wheezy
1 7.0
breathy
8 5.7
reedy
2 7.2
clear
40 1.0

Surface Forms

wheezy positive

Morphology

wheezy = wheeze (transparent) = wheeze + y

Adjectival '-y' applied to 'wheeze' yields a descriptive sense ('sounding like a wheeze'), which is straightforward for learners.

Etymology

Wheezy comes from the sound word wheeze, an imitation of a breathy, whistle-like noise, and the ending -y means 'full of' or 'having'. So wheezy describes a voice or instrument that sounds breathy, high, or slightly rough, like an old accordion.