View synonyms for sibilance

sibilance

[ sib-uh-luhns ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a hissing quality of sound, or the hissing sound itself:
I stretched out comfortably in my sleeping bag, peering up at the stars and listening to the ocean's gentle sibilance.
The older, poorer quality recordings had more than a hint of sibilance.

First recorded in 1800–10; sibil(ant) ( def ) + -ance ( def )

The gentle sibilance of air drawn through the glowing nest of tobacco is the only sound.

"I am here as a witness," a thousand mocking voices seemed to hiss in echoed sibilance.

She laughed, a mirthless sibilance that was marvelously like a snake's hissing, her eyes hard and dry.

Distress signals hissed into the atmosphere in urgent sibilance, then faltered and died away.

Then the breaking of a twig and the sibilance of whispering voices—two of them—perhaps more.

April 20, 2024flabbergast

[flab-er-gast ]

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