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loud

[loud]
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adjective, loud·er, loud·est.
  1. (of sound) strongly audible; having exceptional volume or intensity: loud talking; loud thunder; loud whispers.
  2. making, emitting, or uttering strongly audible sounds: a quartet of loud trombones.
  3. clamorous, vociferous, or blatant; noisy: a loud party; a loud demonstration.
  4. emphatic or insistent: to be loud in one's praises; a loud denial.
  5. garish, conspicuous, or ostentatious, as colors, dress, or the wearer of garish dress: loud ties; a loud dresser.
  6. obtrusively vulgar, as manners or persons.
  7. strong or offensive in smell.
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adverb
  1. in a loud manner; loudly: Don't talk so loud.
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Idioms
  1. out loud, aloud; audibly: I thought it, but I never said it out loud. Just whisper, don't speak out loud.
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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

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

1. quiet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for loudness

Historical Examples

  • "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.

  • Heard from close by, where Maya sat, the music was overpowering in its loudness.

  • Also it achieved a regularity and loudness that guaranteed it to be genuine.

  • 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
  1. (of sound) relatively great in volumea loud shout
  2. making or able to make sounds of relatively great volumea loud voice
  3. clamorous, insistent, and emphaticloud protests
  4. (of colours, designs, etc) offensive or obtrusive to look at
  5. characterized by noisy, vulgar, and offensive behaviour
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adverb
  1. in a loud manner
  2. out loud audibly, as distinct from silently
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Derived Formsloudly, adverbloudness, noun

Word Origin

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

n.

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

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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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

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
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.