loud

[loud]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR loud ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, loud·er, loud·est.

(of sound) strongly audible; having exceptional volume or intensity: loud talking; loud thunder; loud whispers.

making, emitting, or uttering strongly audible sounds: a quartet of loud trombones.

clamorous, vociferous, or blatant; noisy: a loud party; a loud demonstration.

emphatic or insistent: to be loud in one's praises; a loud denial.

garish, conspicuous, or ostentatious, as colors, dress, or the wearer of garish dress: loud ties; a loud dresser.

obtrusively vulgar, as manners or persons.

strong or offensive in smell.

adverb

in a loud manner; loudly: Don't talk so loud.

Idioms

out loud, aloud; audibly: I thought it, but I never said it out loud. Just whisper, don't speak out loud.

Origin of loud

before 900; Middle English; Old English hlūd; cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon hlūd (Dutch luid), Old High German hlūt (German laut); akin to Greek klytós famous

Related formsloud·ly, adverbloud·ness, nouno·ver·loud, adjectiveo·ver·loud·ly, adverbo·ver·loud·ness, nounun·loud·ly, adjective

Synonyms for loud

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR loud ON THESAURUS.COM

1. resounding; deafening; stentorian. Loud, noisy describe a strongly audible sound or sounds. Loud means characterized by a full, powerful sound or sounds, which make a strong impression on the organs of hearing: a loud voice, laugh, report. Noisy refers to a series of sounds, and suggests clamor and discordance, or persistence in making loud sounds that are disturbing and annoying: a noisy crowd. 5. gaudy, flashy, showy.

Antonyms for loud

1. quiet.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for loudness

noise, tone, vibration, accent, note, music, harmony, melody, voice, din, ringing, softness, modulation, tenor, intonation, report, static, reverberation, pitch, racket

Examples from the Web for loudness

Historical Examples of loudness

"I don't care who hears me," Adams said, harshly, though he tempered his loudness.
Alice Adams
Booth Tarkington
Best, apparently, on account of the loudness or clearness of his voice.
The First Four Books of Xenophon's Anabasis
Xenophon
Heard from close by, where Maya sat, the music was overpowering in its loudness.
The Adventures of Maya the Bee
Waldemar Bonsels
Also it achieved a regularity and loudness that guaranteed it to be genuine.
The Rich Little Poor Boy
Eleanor Gates
The shouts and cries of the terrified settlers increased in loudness.
Afar in the Forest
W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for loudness

loud

adjective

(of sound) relatively great in volumea loud shout

making or able to make sounds of relatively great volumea loud voice

clamorous, insistent, and emphaticloud protests

(of colours, designs, etc) offensive or obtrusive to look at

characterized by noisy, vulgar, and offensive behaviour

adverb

in a loud manner

out loud audibly, as distinct from silently

Derived Formsloudly, adverbloudness, noun

Word Origin for loud

Old English hlud; related to Old Swedish hlūd, German laut

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for loudness

Old English hludnis "loudness, clamor;" see loud + -ness.

loud

adj.

Old English hlud "noisy, making noise, sonorous," from West Germanic *khluthaz "heard" (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon hlud, Middle Dutch luut, Dutch luid, Old High German hlut, German laut "loud"), from PIE past participle *klutos- (cf. Sanskrit srutah, Greek klytos "heard of, celebrated," Armenian lu "known," Welsh clod "praise"), from root *kleu- "to hear" (see listen).

Application to colors first recorded 1849. The adverb is from Old English hlude, from Proto-Germanic *khludai (cf. Dutch luid, German laut). Paired with clear since at least c.1650.

Idioms and Phrases with loudness

loud

In addition to the idioms beginning with loud

loud and clear
loud mouth

also see:

actions speak louder than words
big (loud) mouth
for crying out loud
out loud
think aloud
(loud enough) to wake the dead