consonant

American  

[kon-suh-nuhnt] / ˈkɒn sə nənt /

noun

consonants plural

1. Phonetics.

   1. (in English articulation) a speech sound produced by occluding with or without releasing (p, b; t, d; k, g), diverting (m, n, ng), or obstructing (f, v; s, z, etc.) the flow of air from the lungs (opposed to vowel).

   2. (in a syllable) any sound other than the sound of greatest sonority in the syllable, as b, r, and g in brig (opposed to sonant).

   3. (in linguistic function) a concept empirically determined as a phonological element in structural contrast with vowel, as the b of be, the w of we, the y, s, and t of yeast, etc.

2. a letter that usually represents a consonant sound.

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adjective

1. in agreement; agreeable; in accord; consistent (usually followed by to orwith ).

   behavior consonant with his character.

   Synonyms:

   congruous, concordant

2. corresponding in sound, as words.

3. harmonious, as sounds.

4. Music. constituting a consonance.

   Antonyms:

   dissonant

5. Physics. noting or pertaining to sounds exhibiting consonance.

6. consonantal.

consonant British  

/ ˈkɒnsənənt /

noun

1. a speech sound or letter of the alphabet other than a vowel; a stop, fricative, or continuant

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adjective

1. (postpositive; foll by with or to) consistent; in agreement

2. harmonious in tone or sound

3. music characterized by the presence of a consonance

4. being or relating to a consonant

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• consonantlike
  adjective
• unconsonant
  adjective
• consonantly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• consonants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of consonant

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English consona(u)nt, from Anglo-French, from Latin consonant-, stem of consonāns “sounding together,” present participle of consonāre “to sound with or together”; equivalent to con- + sonant

Explanation

A consonant is a speech sound that is not a vowel. It also refers to letters of the alphabet that represent those sounds: Z, B, T, G, and H are all consonants. Consonants are all the non-vowel sounds, or their corresponding letters: A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y are not consonants. In hat, H and T are consonants. Consonant can also be an adjective that describes things that seem like they should go together, things that are "agreeable." You could say a nation's offer of aid is consonant with their treaties. When you hear consonant sounds in music, they are pleasing, the opposite of "dissonant" sounds which are harsh.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

consonant consonants

Now he seems to regret it—though he still hasn’t apologized directly or acknowledged that he was wrong, and is pretending that what he said earlier is consonant with what he’s saying now.

From Slate ● Dec. 30, 2025

But Mr. Haas’s work is much easier on the ear than most Stockhausen—more consonant and not especially taken up with chromaticism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025

There is really no other option, dramatically speaking, or consonant with his character.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2024

In the Gluck rehearsal, Palumbo cautioned the group not to sit on one word’s final vowel, so that the next consonant could be more explosive.

From New York Times ● May 21, 2024

They expected to find that the disintegration yield rose in a curve consonant with increases in the energy of the bombarding deuterons.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

I had more trouble with voiceless consonants than voiced ones—one of the sample sentences for this type of SD reduced my voice to a whisper on nearly every syllable.

From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026

To create an otherworldly voice, Elordi studied Tibetan throat singing and incorporated the slurred consonants caused by dentures he’d been given for the role.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025

Her characters would crash down on consonants, as though landing a plane in the midst of an engine blowout or stretch out vowels in defiance of several laws of physics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2024

They were prone to making simple mistakes, including basic addition errors and mistaking consonants for vowels, which led them to provide incorrect answers.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2024

But even at their orneriest, consonants were fun.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli