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sonant

American  
[soh-nuhnt] / ˈsoʊ nənt /

adjective

  1. sounding; having sound.

  2. Phonetics. voiced (opposed to surd).


noun

Phonetics.
  1. a speech sound that by itself makes a syllable or subordinates to itself the other sounds in the syllable; a syllabic sound (opposed to consonant).

  2. a voiced sound (opposed to surd).

  3. (in Indo-European) a sonorant.

sonant British  
/ səʊˈnæntəl, ˈsəʊnənt /

adjective

  1. phonetics denoting a voiced sound capable of forming a syllable or syllable nucleus

  2. inherently possessing, exhibiting, or producing a sound

"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

noun

  1. phonetics a voiced sound belonging to the class of frictionless continuants or nasals (l, r, m, n, ŋ ) considered from the point of view of being a vowel and, in this capacity, able to form a syllable or syllable nucleus

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of sonant

1840–50; < Latin sonānt- (stem of sonāns ), present participle of sonāre to sound 1. See son-, -ant

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.

Dr. Gutheil cautions that no accurate explanation is apt to be simple: more likely in Hinckley's mind was a dis sonant snarl of emotions and delusions, which in concert led him to Washington.

From Time Magazine Archive

We may say that the sonant consonant and its corresponding surd are the hard and soft forms of the same sound.

From The Art Of Writing & Speaking The English Language Word-Study and Composition & Rhetoric by Cody, Sherwin

His hands moved quietly; his voice was clear and sonant; his words were few and polite.

From Life Immovable First Part by Phoutrides, Aristides E. (Aristides Evangelus)

It is a mute and labial, pronounced solely by the lips, and is distinguished from p by being sonant, that is, produced by the utterance of voice as distinguished from breath.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 3 Atrebates to Bedlis by Various

Far to the right lay what had once been called horresco referens the duckpond, where—"Dulce sonant tenui gutture carmen aves."

From My Novel — Complete by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

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