strident

[strahyd-nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR strident ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

making or having a harsh sound; grating; creaking: strident insects; strident hinges.

having a shrill, irritating quality or character: a strident tone in his writings.

Linguistics. (in distinctive feature analysis) characterized acoustically by noise of relatively high intensity, as sibilants, labiodental and uvular fricatives, and most affricates.

Origin of strident

1650–60; < Latin strīdent- (stem of strīdēns), present participle of strīdēre to make a harsh noise; see -ent

Related formsstri·dence, stri·den·cy, nounstri·dent·ly, adverbnon·stri·dent, adjectiveo·ver·stri·dence, nouno·ver·stri·den·cy, nouno·ver·stri·dent, adjectiveo·ver·stri·dent·ly, adverbun·stri·dent, adjectiveun·stri·dent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for strident

vociferous, blatant, loud, jarring, raucous, boisterous, clamorous, clashing, discordant, grating, hoarse, noisy, obstreperous, rasping, squeaky, stentorian, squawky, unmusical, screeching

Examples from the Web for strident

Contemporary Examples of strident

Then the beat kicks in, followed shortly thereafter by strident vocals.
The Making of Kiesza: From Navy Sharpshooter to Beauty Queen to Pop Diva
Marlow Stern
October 20, 2014
Wolf also has campaigned as a strident opponent of Obamacare and touted his medical expertise in doing so.
D-Day for Milton Wolf, Obama’s Tea Party Cousin, in Kansas Senate Primary
Ben Jacobs
August 5, 2014
Phyllis is a short, stocky, enraged-seeming woman with a high, strident voice and piercing stare.
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial
Ivan Solotaroff
June 28, 2014
His strident screams can be heard on the other side of the wall.
‘Camp X-Ray,’ A Kristen Stewart-Starring Guantanamo Bay Film, Premieres at Sundance
Marlow Stern
January 18, 2014
The reason, by and large, is his strident and divisive agenda on social issues.
Texas Judge Carlo Key Flees the GOP: ‘These Are Not My Values’
Jamelle Bouie
October 23, 2013

Historical Examples of strident

"Just a little friendly call," Cassidy announced, in his strident voice.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
Dominating this came Richard's voice, strident with intensity, if thick of utterance.
Mistress Wilding
Rafael Sabatini
He had grown portly and red-faced, and talked in a strident voice.
Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, September, 1878
Various
A strident dame, this, in red satin and diamonds, insisting that she is a lady.
Gigolo
Edna Ferber
I suppose he got this name from his strident voice and exhaustless eloquence.
Allan's Wife
H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for strident

strident

adjective

(of a shout, voice, etc) having or making a loud or harsh sound

urgent, clamorous, or vociferousstrident demands

Derived Formsstridence or stridency, nounstridently, adverb

Word Origin for strident

C17: from Latin strīdēns, from strīdēre to make a grating 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

Word Origin and History for strident

adj.

1650s, from French strident, from Latin stridentem (nominative stridens), present participle of stridere "utter an inarticulate sound, grate, screech," possibly of imitative origin. Related: Stridently.