clangor

American  

[klang-er, klang-ger] / ˈklæŋ ər, ˈklæŋ gər /

especially British, clangour

noun

1. a loud, resonant sound; clang.

2. clamorous noise.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make a clangor; clang.

Usage

See -our.

Other Word Forms

• clangorous adjective
• clangorously adverb

Etymology

Origin of clangor

1585–95; < Latin: loud sound, noise, equivalent to clang ( ere ) to clang + -or -or ¹

Explanation

Clangor is one of those words that means exactly what it sounds like, so you can feel free to describe the noise your brother makes when he's banging on his drums in the basement as a clangor. The word clangor brings to mind clanking sounds, but it can also be used to mean any kind of resounding, deafening noise, such as the shouting of a crowd. When you instinctively know what a word means just by the way it sounds — like clangor — that's called onomatopoeia.

Example Sentences

After all, the prevailing idea of economic progress — as measured by gross domestic product — depends on expanding the clangor of industrial production, Big Data and the attention economy.

From Washington Post • Sep. 15, 2022

Joyce Manor’s last album owed its power to clangor and feedback.

From New York Times • Oct. 12, 2016

Someone has taken care, here and there, to create smart moments amid the clangor, but Jeff Koons always wins.

From Washington Post • Sep. 13, 2015

A song called “Biobeat” makes its muted clangor more of a focal point, with an off-balance, hypnotic nine-beat rhythmic cycle.

From New York Times • Oct. 17, 2010

The clangor of machinery and hammer greeted Nya each time she returned from the pond—unfamiliar noises that mingled with the voices of men shouting and women singing.

From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park