lilting
Light and songlike
Lilting describes a light, cheerful, rhythmic quality in speech, song, or movement.
A lilting melody rises and falls pleasantly.
A lilting accent has a musical cadence—Irish and Welsh speech are often called lilting.
The word suggests buoyancy and gentle variation in pitch: Her lilting voice carried across the garden.
Pleasing sequence of notes
- tuneMusical sequence of notes
- songlikeHaving melodic quality
- lyricalMusically expressive
- singsongRhythmically monotonous speech
musical · harmonious · aria · refrain · air · ballad · ditty · serenade
Rhythmic pulse or pattern
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
- beatRhythmic pulse or strike
- tempoRate of musical performance
flow · pulse · bounce · meter · groove · sway · undulation · upbeat
Regional speech pattern
- brogueAccent or sturdy shoe
- inflectionWord form alteration
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
Irish · Welsh · Scottish · singsong · modulation · pitch · musicality · drawl
melody
Pleasing sequence of notes
singsong · musical · harmonious · aria · refrain · air · ballad · ditty · serenade · carol
cadence
Rhythmic pulse or pattern
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
- beatRhythmic pulse or strike
tempo · flow · pulse · bounce · meter · groove · sway · undulation · upbeat · buoyancy
accent
Regional speech pattern
- brogueAccent or sturdy shoe
- inflectionWord form alteration
- intonationPitch variation in speech
cadence · Irish · Welsh · Scottish · singsong · modulation · pitch · musicality · drawl · twang
bright
Emitting or reflecting light
carefree · sparkling · breezy · lighthearted · playful · sunny · buoyant · perky · animated · vivacious
soft
Yielding to touch
featherlike · graceful · ethereal · subtle · floating · dainty · wispy · gossamer · tender · silken
- dance qualitiesfluidity, graceful, musicality, rhythmic, grace
- speech qualitiesarticulate, clear, loud, soft, quiet
- folk singingsea shanties, work songs, sea shanty, work song, call and response
- Intonationrising, falling, flat, questioning, declarative
- female vocalssoprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, alto, chanteuse
- rhythmbeat, pulse, tempo, downbeat, upbeat
liltingdiscordant
Lacking musical agreement
cacophonous · dissonant · unmelodious · jarring · harsh
liltingmonotone
Single unvarying pitch
monotonous · flat · droning · unrhythmic · unrhythmical