sibilance

sib·i·lant

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [sib-uh-luh nt]
- /ˈsɪb ə lənt/
- /sˈɪbɪləns/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [sib-uh-luh nt]
- /ˈsɪb ə lənt/

Definitions of sibilance word

adjective sibilance hissing. 1
adjective sibilance Phonetics. characterized by a hissing sound; noting sounds like those spelled with s in this [th is] /ðɪs/ (Show IPA) rose [rohz] /roʊz/ (Show IPA) pressure [presh-er] /ˈprɛʃ ər/ (Show IPA) pleasure [plezh-er] /ˈplɛʒ ər/ (Show IPA) and certain similar uses of ch, sh, z, zh, etc. 1
noun sibilance Phonetics. a sibilant consonant. 1

See all 3 definitions of sibilance

Information block about the term

Origin of sibilance

First appearance:

before 1660

One of the 46% oldest English words

1660-70; < Latin sībilant- (stem of sībilāns), present participle of sībilāre to hiss), equivalent to sībil(us) a hissing, whistling (of imitative orig.) + -ant- -ant

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Sibilance

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Sibilance

sibilance popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 69% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

sibilance usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for sibilance

noun sibilance

hiss — to make or emit a sharp sound like that of the letter s prolonged, as a snake does, or as steam does when forced under pressure through a small opening.

Just one Synonym for sibilance