sibilance
Hissing speech quality
Sibilance is the hissing quality of sounds like *s*, *sh*, and *z*.
The term appears most often in discussions of poetry and audio recording, where excessive sibilance can be harsh or distracting: The microphone picked up too much sibilance.
Poets may use sibilance deliberately for effect: the silken, sad, uncertain rustling.
Consonant with audible friction
- alveolarOf tooth sockets
- consonantIn agreement with
- phonemeMinimal distinctive sound unit
- articulationClear vocal expression
voicing · dental · palatal · affricate · strident · voiceless · pronunciation · phonology
Sharp sibilant sound
- snakeLimbless scaled reptile
- steamHeated water's gaseous form
- staticWithout motion or change
- fizzBubbly hissing sound
spray · leak · radiator · tire · white noise · rain · surf · wind
Soft whispering noise
- murmurSoft, indistinct continuous sound
- hushAbsence of sound
- rustleSoft crackling sound
- softYielding to touch
breath · quiet · undertone · gentle · faint · breathy · secretive · intimate
Matching initial consonants
- assonanceVowel sound repetition
- consonanceHarmonious sound combination
- rhythmPatterned stress and silence
- meterDevice that measures usage
euphony · repetition · sonority · verse · prosody · rhyme · syllable · cadence
Sibilant pronunciation difficulty
- pronunciationManner of speaking words
- enunciationClarity of spoken words
- elocutionFormal speaking skill
- articulationClear vocal expression
stutter · impediment · therapy · clarity · diction · slur · whistling · dentures
fricative
Consonant with audible friction
articulation · voicing · dental · palatal · affricate · strident · voiceless · pronunciation · phonology · linguistics
hiss
Sharp sibilant sound
fizz · spray · leak · radiator · tire · white noise · rain · surf · wind · leaves
susurration
Soft whispering noise
soft · breath · quiet · undertone · gentle · faint · breathy · secretive · intimate · conspiratorial
alliteration
Matching initial consonants
- assonanceVowel sound repetition
- consonanceHarmonious sound combination
- rhythmPatterned stress and silence
meter · euphony · repetition · sonority · verse · prosody · rhyme · syllable · cadence · onomatopoeia
lisp
Sibilant pronunciation difficulty
- pronunciationManner of speaking words
- enunciationClarity of spoken words
- elocutionFormal speaking skill
articulation · stutter · impediment · therapy · clarity · diction · slur · whistling · dentures · orthodontic
- audio flawswrong note, missed note, clipping, distortion, hum
- poetic devicesalliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme, simile
- sound aestheticseuphony, cacophony, assonance, alliteration, consonance
- sound wordsclick, clank, cacophony, clink, crash
- whisperswhisper, whispering, hushed tone, soft voice, low voice
- vocal soundscry, sings, hums, croons, coo
sibilancemellowness
Soft, relaxed quality
smoothness · sonorousness · mellifluousness · euphony · softness
sibilancevowel sound
Unobstructed speech tone
vocalization · nasality · plosive · sonority · resonance