muffled sound
Quiet through barriers
A muffled sound is one that's been deadened or dampened, as if heard through a barrier.
Voices through walls, footsteps on carpet, or words spoken into a pillow all produce muffled sounds—the original clarity softened or obscured: We heard muffled laughter from the next room.
The phrase often suggests something partially hidden or suppressed.
- hushedReduced to silence
- mutedMade quieter or softer
- dampenedMade moist or subdued
- stifledForcibly held in
- smotheredDeprived of air
muffled scream · whisper · murmur · barely audible · thud · low rumble · dull · pillow · fabric · distant · behind closed doors · faint · soft · underwater · fog · barrier · cloth · cushioned
- sensory disorderscolor blindness, hearing loss, blindness, visual impairment, numbness
- soundechoes, acoustics, vibrations, audio, volume
- tech problemsbug, paper jam, low ink, dropped calls, bugs
- audio flawswrong note, missed note, clipping, distortion, hum
- Muted qualitiessilence, quiet, hush, stillness, whisper
- lo-fi aestheticslo-fi, cassette tape, tape hiss, distortion, four-track