Sounds: how to describe them?
Asked by: Edward Feliciano
How do you describe sounds?
Sounds are often described as loud or soft; high-pitched or low-pitched. These words are commonly used to describe, or characterize, how sounds are perceived. Scientists, on the other hand, describe sounds with characteristics that can be measured using instruments.
What words are used to describe sounds?
General Words Describing Sounds
- audible – a sound that is loud enough to hear.
- broken – a sound that has spaces in it.
- emit – to make a sound.
- grinding – a sound of one hard thing moving against another.
- hushed – a sound that is quiet.
- inaudible – a sound that is difficult to hear.
How do you describe hearing sounds?
Hearing is one of the five senses that uses our two ears to communicate the direction and distance of sounds to our brain.
| Sound Adjectives | ||
|---|---|---|
| clamorous | melodious | soft |
| croaky | muffled | soundless |
| discordant | musical | speechless |
| dissonant | muted | squeaky |
How do you write sounds?
In general, sounds in fiction are formatted using italics. If the context requires the sound to stand alone for emphasis, it is usually recommended the author use the sound on its own line. If someone is describing sound in first person narrative, there are instances where italics might include dashes.
What are the different types of sounds?
The three types of sound are:
- Infrasonic: It is a sound with a frequency of less than 20Hz. Elephants use Infrasonic sounds to interact with herds hundreds of km away.
- Sonic: It is a sound with the frequency between 20 to 20,000Hz. …
- Ultrasonic: It is a sound with a frequency more than 20,000Hz.
How do you describe sound in a story?
While adjectives (words like “loud” or “sharp”) are the obvious choice for describing sounds, verbs are a powerful tool that can also help you achieve a strong description. For example, saying, “the jet was loud” is accurate and descriptive, while “the jet screamed” evokes an even stronger sense of the sound.
How do you describe sound effects in writing?
Onomatopoeia is an effective way to include the sense of sound. The overuse of onomatopoeia typically comes from too many interjections or one-word sentences. These can affect the pacing of your writing and jolt your reader out of the story. Repetition can quickly become cliché.
How would you describe the sound of wind?
The group of words related to different sounds of wind is swish, swoosh, whiff, whoosh, whizz, whisper etc. Poets use onomatopoeia to access the reader’s auditory sense and create rich soundscapes.
How do you spell a blowing sound?
These words describe the sounds of air blowing through things or of things rushing through the air.
Examples of air onomatopoeia sounds are:
- flutter.
- fisst.
- fwoosh.
- gasp.
- swish.
- swoosh.
- waft.
- whiff.
What does a breeze sound like?
Depending upon the speed of the wind and the objects it’s passing through, around, or over, the wind can cause a wide variety of sounds, from the soft rustling of leaves and the delicate notes of wind chimes to the “whoosh” of a stiff breeze and the loud whistle of storm winds approaching.
How would you describe the sound of a whistle?
Whistle is a word with several meanings, but they have in common a similar high-pitched, airy sound. This is different from most instruments. You can’t tuba without a tuba, but you can whistle without a whistle. Sometimes people’s teeth make a whistling sound by accident.
How do you describe moaning in writing?
Combine a descriptor and a sound for best effect – for example, “needy moan,” “pleased hum,” or “sudden scream.” You can even use two: “low, rough grunt,” “sweet little cry,” “desperate, filthy noise,” as long as you don’t repeat a word that means the same thing, unless you really want to emphasize it.
What is the sound of glass called?
Perhaps you meant to ask about the sound of a glass as it breaks. There is no specific word, but depending on the size of the glass, and the violence of the breaking, you could use ‘crash’ or ‘smash’, with the option of ‘tinkle’ for a small, non-violent breaking.
What does a bell sound like in words?
alarm bells clang, funeral bells toll and knell. For small bells, I think tinkle, jingle, ring would all apply.
What is a wave sound?
A sound wave is the pattern of disturbance caused by the movement of energy traveling through a medium (such as air, water, or any other liquid or solid matter) as it propagates away from the source of the sound. The source is some object that causes a vibration, such as a ringing telephone, or a person’s vocal chords.
What is the sound of water?
A stream burbles as it travels along its bed, bubbling over rocks and branches. The verb burble captures both the movement of the water and the sound it makes as it moves. You could also say that a brook or stream or river babbles or ripples or even trickles.