sibilance

American  

[sib-uh-luhns] / ˈsɪb ə ləns /

Rarely sibilancy

noun

1. a hissing quality of sound, or the hissing sound itself.

   I stretched out comfortably in my sleeping bag, peering up at the stars and listening to the ocean's gentle sibilance.

   The older, poorer quality recordings had more than a hint of sibilance.

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Other Word Forms

• nonsibilance
  noun
• subsibilance
  noun

Etymology

Origin of sibilance

First recorded in 1800–10; sibil(ant) ( def. ) + -ance ( def. )

Explanation

Anything that makes a hissing sound has the quality of sibilance, like the sentence "The sassy snake slithered slowly." Sibilance derives from a Latin root, sibilare, which means "to hiss or whistle." There's a certain sibilance in the word itself, with its repeated s sounds. The sound of an angry snake, a whistling wind, a librarian's "Shhhhhh!" or your friend trying to get your attention by saying "Psssst!" — these are all examples of sibilance.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sibilance

Even now, she records many of her vocals at home, with a sock stretched over the microphone to prevent popping and sibilance.

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026

Similarly, on “JumpOutTheHouse,” he delivers the titular refrain by accentuating the sibilance in the word “house” so that it sounds like the word is cleaving the air as it gets pulled down to earth.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2021

They support Qualcomm’s AptX standard, their bass has a nice punch and heft to it, there’s no harshness or sibilance to the trebles, and all across the audio spectrum their sound is clear and balanced.

From The Verge ● Sep. 5, 2019

Burmese Days by George Orwell The sweet sibilance of the title alone makes this a compulsory choice.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 10, 2019

Orr snickered with a slight, mucid sibilance and turned back to his work, squatting.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• catcall
• hoot