adjective
-
gratingly harsh or raucous in tone
-
low, harsh, and lacking in intensity
a hoarse whisper
-
having a husky voice, as through illness, shouting, etc
Other Word Forms
- hoarsely adverb
- hoarseness noun
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.
Several supporters in Dakar, their voices still hoarse and weary, told AFP they were disappointed by such threats.
From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026
The graduates were hoarse and flights were canceled, but nobody seemed to mind.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025
She updated her followers in a later post by saying she was "a bit hoarse, but all is good".
From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025
Muncy said, his hoarse voice beginning to crack.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2025
I shouted names until I was hoarse and heard them repeated from mouth to mouth down the long corridor.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
