sonorous

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son·o·rous

(sŏn′ər-əs, sō′nər-əs, sə-nôr′əs)

adj.

1. Having or producing sound.

2. Having or producing a full, deep, or rich sound.

3. Impressive in style of speech: a sonorous oration.

4. (also sō′nər-əs) Produced in the manner of a sonorant.

[From Latin sonōrus, from sonor, sound, from sonāre, to sound; see swen- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

son′o·rous·ly adv.

son′o·rous·ness n.

Usage Note: Traditionally, sonorous was stressed on the second syllable, but the pronunciation with stress on the first syllable is now much more common in American English, with either a short o (sŏn′ər-əs) or a long o (sō′nər-əs). In our 2016 survey, a significant majority of the Usage Panel—64 percent—preferred (sŏn′ər-əs), while 26 percent preferred (sō′nər-əs) and only 9 percent of the Usage Panel preferred the traditional (sə-nôr′əs) pronunciation.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sonorous

(səˈnɔːrəs; ˈsɒnərəs)

adj

1. producing or capable of producing sound

2. (of language, sound, etc) deep or resonant

3. (esp of speech) high-flown; grandiloquent

[C17: from Latin sonōrus loud, from sonor a noise]

sonority n

soˈnorously adv

soˈnorousness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

so•no•rous

(səˈnɔr əs, -ˈnoʊr-, ˈsɒn ər əs)

adj.

1. resonant or resonating with sound: a sonorous cavern.

2. loud and deep-toned: a sonorous voice.

3. rich and full in sound, as language or verse.

4. high-flown; grandiloquent: a sonorous speech.

[1605–15; < Latin sonōrus noisy, sounding, derivative of sonor, s. sonōr- sound (son(āre) to sound¹ + -or -or¹); see -ous]

so•no′rous•ly, adv.

so•no′rous•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.

sonorous - full and loud and deep; "heavy sounds"; "a herald chosen for his sonorous voice"

heavy

full - (of sound) having marked deepness and body; "full tones"; "a full voice"

sonorous

adjective

1. rich, deep, ringing, resonant, full, rounded, sounding, loud, resounding, plangent 'Doctor McKee?' the man called in an even, sonorous voice.

2. high-flown, grandiloquent, high-sounding, orotund a clutch of children with sonorous Old Testament names

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

sonorous

adjective

1. Having or producing a full, deep, or rich sound:

mellow, orotund, plangent, resonant, resounding, ringing, rotund, round, vibrant.

2. Characterized by language that is elevated and sometimes pompous in style:

aureate, bombastic, declamatory, flowery, fustian, grandiloquent, high-flown, high-sounding, magniloquent, orotund, overblown, rhetorical, swollen.

Translations

sonor

mahtipontinenpontevasoinnikassointuva

sonorous

[ˈsɒnərəs] ADJ (gen) → sonoro

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

sonorous

[ˈsɒnərəs səˈnɔːrəs] adj [voice] → sonore

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

sonorous

adj → volltönend, sonor (geh); language, poem → klangvoll; snore → laut

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

sonorous

[ˈsɒnərəs] adj (frm) → sonoro/a

sonorous

a. sonoro-a, resonante, con un sonido vibrante.

References in classic literature ?

The king's request had undoubtedly been acceded to by an affirmative sign, for in firm, sonorous accents, which vibrated in the depths of Athos's heart, the king began his speech, explaining his conduct and counseling the welfare of the kingdom.

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They were all together (except Eureka) in the pretty rooms of the Princess, and the Wizard did some new tricks, and the Scarecrow told stories, and the Tin Woodman sang a love song in a sonorous, metallic voice, and everybody laughed and had a good time.

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They drank to the earth and to her satellite, to the Gun Club, the Union, the Moon, Diana, Phoebe, Selene, the "peaceful courier of the night!" All the hurrahs, carried upward upon the sonorous waves of the immense acoustic tube, arrived with the sound of thunder at its mouth; and the multitude ranged round Stones Hill heartily united their shouts with those of the ten revelers hidden from view at the bottom of the gigantic Columbiad.

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"I'm tired; I think not." Her glance wandered from his face away toward the Gulf, whose sonorous murmur reached her like a loving but imperative entreaty.

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And so, after having composed, struck out, rejected, added to, unmade, and remade a multitude of names out of his memory and fancy, he decided upon calling him Rocinante, a name, to his thinking, lofty, sonorous, and significant of his condition as a hack before he became what he now was, the first and foremost of all the hacks in the world.

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As Monte Cristo approached, she leaned upon the elbow of the arm that held the narghile, and extending to him her other hand, said, with a smile of captivating sweetness, in the sonorous language spoken by the women of Athens and Sparta, "Why demand permission ere you enter?

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As the aboriginal tribes of these magnificent regions are yet in existence, the Indian names might easily be recovered; which, besides being in general more sonorous and musical, would remain mementoes of the primitive lords of the soil, of whom in a little while scarce any traces will be left.

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At that moment he heard a powerful and sonorous voice articulate behind him a formidable series of oaths.

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It was D'Artagnan's sword, which, slipping from his baldric, had fallen on the sonorous flooring.

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"Forward, with God!" said Bagration, in a resolute, sonorous voice, turning for a moment to the front line, and slightly swinging his arms, he went forward uneasily over the rough field with the awkward gait of a cavalryman.

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The rustle of the poplar leaves about the house worried her, it sounded so like pattering raindrops, and the full, faraway roar of the gulf, to which she listened delightedly at other times, loving its strange, sonorous, haunting rhythm, now seemed like a prophecy of storm and disaster to a small maiden who particularly wanted a fine day.

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Among the shifting, sonorous, pulsing crowd glimpses could be had of Jerry's high hat, battered by the winds and rains of many years; of his nose like a carrot, battered by the frolicsome, athletic progeny of millionaires and by contumacious fares; of his brass-buttoned green coat, admired in the vicinity of McGary's.