adjective
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gratingly harsh or raucous in tone
-
low, harsh, and lacking in intensity
a hoarse whisper
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having a husky voice, as through illness, shouting, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hoarse
1350–1400; Middle English hors < Old Norse *hārs (assumed variant of hāss ); replacing Middle English hoos, Old English hās, cognate with Old High German heis, Old Saxon hēs
Explanation
A hoarse voice is deep and rough and kind of hard to make out. People get hoarse when they're sick, or when they are calling in sick to work. If you're supposed to perform in a play tonight, you'd better hope you don't get hoarse: a hoarse voice doesn't sound the way it should. It's scratchy, gruff, and hard to understand. Sometimes people get hoarse from talking too much. Inhaling smoke can make you hoarse too. On the other hand, some people have raspy, husky, rough-sounding voices that sound hoarse all the time. You could ask them, "Are you hoarse?" They might say, "Nah, I always sound like this."
Vocabulary lists containing hoarse
List 3
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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The Cay
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Get up, Father Pierre. Get up!” shouted one elderly woman as she stood in the pallbearers’ path, her screams turning her voice hoarse as she partially collapsed in the arms of a medic.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
Several supporters in Dakar, their voices still hoarse and weary, told AFP they were disappointed by such threats.
From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026
Palme d’Or winners and catwalk icons gather in the private boxes while shirtless ultras sing themselves hoarse behind the goals.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 4, 2026
A Labour source said: "I've heard of a stalking horse, but this guy is going to get hoarse from his endless stalking."
From BBC • Sep. 24, 2025
“Help!” he shouted, his voice a hoarse rasp.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
