sonorous
Americanadjective
adjective
-
producing or capable of producing sound
-
(of language, sound, etc) deep or resonant
-
(esp of speech) high-flown; grandiloquent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sonorous
1605–15; < Latin sonōrus noisy, sounding, equivalent to sonōr-, stem of sonor sound ( son ( āre ) to sound 1 + -or -or 1 ) + -us -ous
Explanation
Used to describe sound or speech that is full, rich, and deep, sonorous is a great word for snoring, for bass voices, and for low notes on the tuba. Skip the first "o" and you'll see snore inside this word, which should give you a clue as to its deeply resonant character. Another way to remember sonorous is that son sounds like "sound," and that's what this word is all about.
Vocabulary lists containing sonorous
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Common Senses: Son ("Sound")
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Things Fall Apart
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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.
Sonorous and soaring, full of high-minded earnestness—and, of course, dignity—but at times gauzy and hard to understand in all its twists and turns.
From Slate • Jun. 28, 2016
Sonorous and/or schmaltzy talk substitutes for the revelation of character through action.
From Salon • Apr. 16, 2011
Sonorous and bland, he mocks both the ambitious Imperialism of Theodore Roosevelt and the lofty Internationalism of Woodrow Wilson.
From Time Magazine Archive
He will proceed, with this banner flying, to the custom-house in Charleston, "All the while, Sonorous metal blowing martial sounds."
From American Eloquence, Volume 1 Studies In American Political History (1896) by Johnston, Alexander
Sonorous, throbbing, mighty, it rang through the cylindered rooms.
From Astounding Stories, April, 1931 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
