Strident

Practice This Word

Having a loud, harsh, and grating sound.

adjective

Strident

Having a loud, harsh, and grating sound.

adjective

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Imagine This

There is an ant race in a stadium; every ant is very excited, yelling, 'Stride! Ants! Take bigger steps! Go! Go!' The announcer screamed, 'On your mars, get set, go!' The runner runs with big steps, and other ants keep yelling, making loud and harsh noises.

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Sounds Like

STRI-dent (sounds like 'stride' plus 'ant')

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Looks Like

Trident → a three-pronged spear; Trident missile → name of the most advanced submarine-launched missile

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Remember This

Trident missiles are launched with loud, piercing sounds.

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Other Forms

stridentlyadverb

stridencynoun

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Connect With

shrill, harsh, loud, boisterous, clamorous, raunchous

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Note

Typically describes voices, alarms, or noises that are loud and harsh; not used for soft or gentle sounds. Be mindful of nuance when choosing synonyms.

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Study Deeper

Examples

Her strident voice dominated the room and demanded attention.
The strident alarm woke everyone in the building.

Synonyms

shrillharshclamorousraucousboisterous

Antonyms

softgentlemellowquiet

Etymology

From Latin stridens, present participle of stridere 'to creak, rasp, or make a harsh noise,' from strid- 'to creak' + -ens.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic: STRIDE + ANT — imagine a marching ant whose loud stride is so forceful it sounds like a strident yell.

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