Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

sibilant

[sib-uh-luh nt]
See more synonyms for sibilant on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. hissing.
  2. Phonetics. characterized by a hissing sound; noting sounds like those spelled with s in this [th is] /ðɪs/, rose [rohz] /roʊz/, pressure [presh-er] /ˈprɛʃ ər/, pleasure [plezh-er] /ˈplɛʒ ər/, and certain similar uses of ch, sh, z, zh, etc.
Show More
noun
  1. Phonetics. a sibilant consonant.
Show More

Origin of sibilant

1660–70; < Latin sībilant- (stem of sībilāns), present participle of sībilāre to hiss), equivalent to sībil(us) a hissing, whistling (of imitative orig.) + -ant- -ant
Related formssib·i·lance, sib·i·lan·cy, nounsib·i·lant·ly, adverbnon·sib·i·lance, nounnon·sib·i·lan·cy, nounnon·sib·i·lant, adjective, nounnon·sib·i·lant·ly, adverbsub·sib·i·lance, nounsub·sib·i·lan·cy, nounsub·sib·i·lant, adjective, nounsub·sib·i·lant·ly, adverbun·sib·i·lant, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

catcallhootderisionbuzzcontemptboosibilance

Examples from the Web for sibilance

Historical Examples

  • Her clan took the word up, and for a time the sibilance of it was like a hiss in the room.

    The Imitator

    Percival Pollard

  • So now he puckered his lips to the sibilance of a canoe-song, and waited.

    The Silent Places

    Steward Edward White

  • He nodded without looking at me, and with some sibilance of excuse, read the message.

  • She sighed, and the sibilance of it echoed with a strange lingering note between those high gray walls.

    Stubble

    George Looms

  • It was a gentle sound, but with a sibilance that held a threat of danger—like the hiss of a gigantic serpent.

British Dictionary definitions for sibilance

sibilant

adjective
  1. phonetics relating to or denoting the consonants (s, z, / ʃ /, / ʒ /), all pronounced with a characteristic hissing sound
  2. having a hissing soundthe sibilant sound of wind among the leaves
Show More
noun
  1. a sibilant consonant
Show More
Derived Formssibilance or sibilancy, nounsibilantly, adverb

Word Origin

C17: from Latin sībilāre to hiss, of imitative origin; compare Greek sizein to hiss
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 sibilance

sibilant

adj.

1660s, from Latin sibilantem (nominative sibilans), present participle of sibilare "to hiss, whistle," possibly of imitative origin (cf. Greek sizein "to hiss," Lettish sikt "to hiss," Old Church Slavonic svistati "to hiss, whistle"). Related: Sibilance; sibilation (1620s).

Show More

sibilant

n.

"speech sound having a hissing effect," 1772, from sibilant (adj.).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
sibilance in Medicine

sibilant

(sĭb′ə-lənt)
adj.
  1. Of, characterized by, or producing a hissing sound like that of (s) or (sh).
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.