Words to describe sounds
Vocabulary for what a scene sounds like, sorted by the kind of sound.
About this list
Roget grouped sound by kind — loud, faint, sharp, rolling, resonant, hissing, harsh, the cries of people and animals — and that grouping is kept. Nouns, verbs, and adjectives are listed separately, so a writer looking for a verb is not wading through nouns.
Sound
Nouns
- sound
- voice
- noise
- tone
- strain
- accent
- rough breathing
- resonance
- cadence
- intonation
- phonology
- phonics
- phonetics
- twang
- aspirate
- audibility
Verbs
Adjectives
Loudness
Nouns
- power
- noise
- boom
- bang
- blast
- loud noise
- thunder
- cannon
- lungs
- artillery
- roar
- resonance
- swell
- din
- trumpet blast
- racket
- fanfare
- uproar
- flourish of trumpets
- loudness
- clatter
- clang
- hubbub
- peal
- blare
- fracas
- hullabaloo
Verbs
- speak up
- wake the dead
- split the head
- fill the air
- be loud
- boom
- ring in the ear
- split the ears
- thunder
- shout
- make one's windows shake
- thunder in the ear
- pierce the ears
- roar
- swell
- din in the ear
- stun
- rattle the windows
- awaken the echoes
- bellow
- startle the echoes
- clang
- rend the air
- rend the ears
- rend the skies
- peal
- blare
- resound
- fulminate
- deafen
Adjectives
- full
- deep
- powerful
- loud
- big-sounding
- high-sounding
- ear-splitting
- noisy
- piercing
- blatant
- deafening
- ear-deafening
- thundering
- trumpet-tongued
- ear-rending
- sonorous
- uproarious
- obstreperous
Adverbs
Faintness
Nouns
Verbs
- flow
- breathe
- steal on the ear
- melt in the air
- float on the air
- whisper
- hum
- ripple
- murmur
- babble
- mutter
- tinkle
- purl
- gurgle
Adjectives
- low
- soft
- liquid
- floating
- gentle
- flowing
- dull
- faint
- just audible
- soothing
- whispered
- husky
- scarcely audible
- muffled
- stifled
- inaudible
- hoarse
- dulcet
- purling
Adverbs
Snap
Nouns
- report
- gun
- cap
- cap gun
- boom
- blast
- firing
- gun cotton
- explosion
- snap
- burst
- nuclear explosion
- cherry bomb
- bomb burst
- discharge
- plastic explosive
- atomic explosion
- dynamite
- cracker
- pow
- whack
- TNT
- gunpowder
- rapping
- volley
- detonation
- thud
- salvo
- implosion
- wham
- firecracker
- squib
- nitrocellulose
- cordite
- plastique
- nitroglycerine
- mercury fulminate
- picric acid
Verbs
- pop
- click
- blow
- blow up
- crash
- crack
- knock
- boom
- bang
- blast
- tap
- snap
- rap
- slam
- burst on the ear
- clash
- ping
- clap
- whack
- rump
- detonate
- crackle
- wham
- clang
- clack
Adjectives
Roll
Nouns
- cat
- roll
- tattoo
- kitten
- hum
- devil's tattoo
- repetition
- racket
- drumming
- clutter
- cuckoo
- hummingbird
- rumbling
- purr
- reverberation
- peal of bells
- drumroll
- whirr
- dingdong
- quaver
- ratatat
- ratatat-tat
Verbs
- beat
- roll
- shake
- drum
- toll
- drum in the ear
- tick
- hum
- din in the ear
- rumble
- rattle
- chime
- patter
- trill
- clatter
- clack
- peal
Adjectives
Resonance
Nouns
- low note
- ring
- base note
- deep note
- bell
- flat note
- double bond
- natural frequency
- bass
- grave note
- bass note
- frequency selection
- reflection
- buzz
- echo
- echo chamber
- sounding board
- pi clouds
- ringing
- tuning
- resonance
- tuning fork
- gong
- alternating double bonds
- buzzer
- coupled vibration frequency
- non-bonded resonance
- sympathetic vibrations
- radio resonant structure
- doorbell
- baritone
- zap
- tinnitus
- resonator
- resonator circuit
- cymbals
- resonating cavity
- basso
- reverberation
- squelch
- overtone
- contralto
- reflexion
- zot
Verbs
- ring
- ring in the ear
- echo
- jingle
- resonate
- chime
- tink †
- clink
- goggle
- tinkle
- reverberate
- resound
- gurgle
Adjectives
Sibilation
Nouns
- high note
- fly
- steam
- snake
- bug
- air valve
- bee
- safety valve
- pressure release valve
- tires
- steam release valve
- zip
- goose
- insect
- escaping steam
- mosquito
- air escaping from tires
- tea kettle
- serpent
- wasp
- pressure cooker
- steam radiator
- hiss
- punctured tire
- sibilance
Verbs
Adjectives
Stridor
Nouns
- high note
- acute note
- alto
- penny trumpet
- discord
- tenor
- treble
- soprano
- sharpness
- roughness
- creaking
- falsetto
- cacophony
- creak
- stridor
Verbs
- split the head
- pipe
- split the ears
- scream
- buzz
- jar
- jar upon the ear
- pierce the ears
- offend the ear
- burr
- yelp
- grate
- grate upon the ear
- clank
- clink
- twang
- creak
- jangle
Adjectives
Cry
Nouns
Verbs
- call out
- cry
- cry out
- raise up the voice
- give a cry
- sing out
- lift up the voice
- pipe
- scream
- strain the voice
- cheer
- shout
- strain the throat
- yell
- strain the lungs
- roar
- brawl
- hoop
- moan
- whine
- whoop
- howl
- grunt
- groan
- snort
- hoot
- squeak
- screech
- shrill
- squeal
- exclaim
- grumble
- bellow
- shriek
- snore
- squall
- rend the air
- bawl
- pule
- halloo
Adjectives
Ululation
Nouns
Verbs
- low
- bay
- cry
- pipe
- bow-wow
- chuck
- tweet
- whistle
- crow
- roar
- hog
- chuckle
- swine
- mule
- peep
- hoo
- rooster
- meow
- yelp
- grunt
- cuckoo
- growl
- quack
- mew
- hoot
- honk
- yap
- baa †
- squeak
- screech
- gobble
- yip
- bellow
- chirp
- purr
- trill
- gaggle
- snarl
- blatter †
- caw
- neigh
- cheep
- squawk
- cackle
- croak
- blare
- cluck
Adjectives
Adverbs
Silence
Nouns
Verbs
- still
- stop
- silence
- be silent
- put to silence
- hold one's tongue
- render silent
- hush
- muzzle
- stifle
- muffle
Adjectives
Adverbs
Sources and licenses
- Categories and period vocabulary from the 1911 edition of Roget's Thesaurus, in the public domain. A dagger (†) marks a word its editors already called obsolete.
- Words are ordered by how often they appear in modern English, measured with wordfreq.