sibilant
/ˈsɪb.ɪ.lənt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.02 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "She sat a little higher than I, and whenever in her solitary ecstasy she was led to kiss me, her head would bend with a sleepy, soft, drooping movement that was almost woeful, and her bare knees caught and compressed my wrist, and slackened again; and her quivering mouth, distorted by the acridity of some mysterious potion, with a sibilant intake of breath came near to my face."
- "She had a curious habit of prefacing everything she said with a soft sibilant sound. "S-s-s Grace," she said, "it's just like I was telling Brother Hutson the other day. 'S-s-s Brother Hutson,' I said, 'looks like we're fighting a losing battle, a losing battle.' I said.""
- "Groove fricatives all have more or less of an [s]-like quality, and are for this reason sometimes called sibilants."
Etymology
From Latin sībilāns, present active participle of sībilō (“to hiss”).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɪb.ɪ.lənt/
- British English: /ˈsɪb.ɪ.lənt/