sibilant
Fricative with hiss
Sibilant describes sounds made by forcing air through a narrow channel, producing a hissing quality—the sounds of s, z, sh, and similar consonants.
As a noun, a sibilant is any such sound.
The word appears most often in discussions of speech, poetry, or linguistics, where writers note the effect of repeated sibilants: The sibilant whispers filled the room.
Sibilant can also describe anything that hisses or produces a similar sound: the sibilant rush of steam from the pipes.
Consonant with audible friction
- affricateConsonant blending closure and friction
- alveolarOf tooth sockets
- voicelessHaving no voice
- consonantIn agreement with
strident · phoneme · allophone · dental · articulation · acoustics · phonology · aspiration
Sharp sibilant sound
- susurrationSoft whispering noise
- rustleSoft crackling sound
- swishSoft rushing sound
- whooshRushing air sound
fizz · sizzle · whisper · murmur · shush · sough · whir · buzz
Cunning, limbless reptile
- slitherGlide smoothly, sinuously
- hissSharp sibilant sound
- cobraHooded venomous serpent
- viperFanged toxic serpent
python · rattlesnake · asp · adder · mamba · boa · forked tongue · scales
fricative
Consonant with audible friction
consonant · strident · phoneme · allophone · dental · articulation · acoustics · phonology · aspiration · speech
hiss
Sharp sibilant sound
- susurrationSoft whispering noise
- rustleSoft crackling sound
- swishSoft rushing sound
whoosh · fizz · sizzle · whisper · murmur · shush · sough · whir · buzz · crackle
serpent
Cunning, limbless reptile
viper · python · rattlesnake · asp · adder · mamba · boa · forked tongue · scales · coil
murmur
Soft, indistinct continuous sound
confide · intimate · softly · quiet · hushed · low · inaudible · conspiratorial · stage whisper · breath
sneak
Move with stealth
- serpentineCurving in repeated bends
- insidiousSubtly destructive over time
- slyCleverly deceptive
scheming · devious · menacing · ominous · creeping · shadowy · villain · Slytherin · Gollum · Voldemort
- phoneticsphonemes, phoneme, vocal folds, consonants, vowels
- speech soundsvowel, diphthong, nasal, monophthong, vocal folds
- speechspeech, speaking, talk, diction, conversation
- linguisticslinguistics, phoneme, phonemes, morpheme, morphemes
- consonantsd, h, q, r, w
- S thingssnake, serpent, spiral, sigma, ess