DEFINITIONS
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sonorant

[ suh-nawr-uh nt, -nohr-, soh- ]
/ səˈnɔr ənt, -ˈnoʊr-, soʊ- /
Phonetics
SEE SYNONYMS FOR sonorant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a voiced sound that is less sonorous than a vowel but more sonorous than a stop or fricative and that may occur as either a sonant or a consonant, as (l, r, m, n, y, w).
a speech sound characterized by relatively free air passage through some channel, as a vowel, semivowel, liquid, or nasal.Compare obstruent.

adjective

of, relating to, or having the properties of a sonorant.

Words related to sonorant

thrilling, ringing, profound, rich, mellow, sonorous, resonant, earsplitting, forceful, thunderous, roaring, loud, emphatic, electrifying, thundering, booming, resounding, strident, throbbing, full

Words nearby sonorant

sonography, sonoluminescence, sonoma, sonometer, sonora, sonorant, sonority, sonorous, sonorous rale, sons and lovers, sons of freedom

Origin of sonorant

< Latin sonōr- (stem of sonor) sound, noise + -ant; see sonorous

OTHER WORDS FROM sonorant

non·so·no·rant, adjective, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for sonorant

sonorant
/ (ˈsɒnərənt) /

noun phonetics

one of the frictionless continuants or nasals (l, r, m, n, ŋ) having consonantal or vocalic functions depending on its situation within the syllable
either of the two consonants represented in English orthography by w or y and regarded as either consonantal or vocalic articulations of the vowels iː and uː

Word Origin for sonorant

from Latin sonor a noise + -ant
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