Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

obstreperous

/əbˈstɹɛpəɹəs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.64 in modern English

Syllables: ob-streper-ous
IPA: /əbˈstɹɛpəɹəs/

16

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Attended by, or making, a loud and tumultuous noise; boisterous.

adj

Stubbornly defiant; disobedient; resistant to authority or control (whether in a noisy manner or not).

Example Sentences

"[O]n a clear still summer evening you may hear from the battery of New York the obstreperous peals of broad-mouthed laughter of the Dutch negroes at Communipaw."
"This disposition his subsequent life had not tended to change in any considerable degree, though increased knowledge, with much observation, and a little reading, had rendered the gaiety of the young man a very different thing to the obstreperous mirth of the boy."
"[…] my hope Dwindled into a ghost not fit to cope With that obstreperous joy success would bring"
"He developed an obstreperous baritone—it was the same voice, now more specifically in action, that I had first heard on the devastated prairie; and he made himself rather preponderant, whether he happened to know the song or not."
"The train was soon filled to the brim with obstreperous American tourists brandishing Pina Coladas from the upper deck, and started to resemble a smallish dry-land cruise ship."
"[W]e came to Whittingham. Thence to Newcastle, where an obstreperous horse retarded us for an hour at least."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁óp(i) Proto-Italic *op Latin ob Latin ob- Latin strepō Latin obstrepō Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Italic *-os Archaic Latin -os Latin -us Latin obstreperusbor. English obstreperous Borrowed from Latin obstreperus, first attested circa 17th c. Compare obstropulous.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: obstreperus

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /əbˈstɹɛpəɹəs/
British English: /əbˈstɹɛp.əɹ.əs/

Inflected Forms

more obstreperous (comparative) most obstreperous (superlative)

Derived Forms

obstreperosity obstreperously obstreperousness stroppy unobstreperous

Synonyms

clamorous loud noisy vociferous recalcitrant uncooperative unruly adamant ardent grim untiring bent on

Questions

How do you pronounce obstreperous?: The recorded pronunciation is /əbˈstɹɛpəɹəs/.
What does obstreperous mean?: Attended by, or making, a loud and tumultuous noise; boisterous.
Where does obstreperous come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce obstreperous

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