stertorous

[ stur-ter-uhs ]
See synonyms for stertorous on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. characterized by stertor or heavy snoring.

  2. breathing in this manner.

Origin of stertorous

1
First recorded in 1795–1805; stertor + -ous

Other words from stertorous

  • ster·to·rous·ly, adverb
  • ster·to·rous·ness, noun
  • post·ster·to·rous, adjective

Words Nearby stertorous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stertorous in a sentence

  • A series of low, stertorous growls followed, growls that made my blood run cold!

    Uncanny Tales | Various
  • Mayo, when he heard their stertorous breathing close at hand, groped for them and shoved tools into their clutch.

    Blow The Man Down | Holman Day
  • There was a dead silence for a few moments, broken only by the stertorous breathing of the man upon the couch.

    The Mynns' Mystery | George Manville Fenn
  • It, too, was empty, except for a figure breathing with drunken and stertorous stupor in a chair at one corner.

    The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville Buck
  • Tom's breathing became stertorous, and that, in connection with morphia poisoning, means danger.

    Sixes and Sevens | O. Henry

British Dictionary definitions for stertorous

stertorous

/ (ˈstɜːtərəs) /


adjective
  1. marked or accompanied by heavy snoring

  2. breathing in this way

Derived forms of stertorous

  • stertorously, adverb
  • stertorousness, noun

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