Sonorous

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈsÉ’n.É™r.É™s/
• US IPA: /ˈsɑːn.Éš.É™s/, /ˈsoÊŠ.nÉ™.rÉ™s/

Alternative forms

• sonourous rare

Origin

From Latin sonorus from sonor sound.

Full definition of sonorous

Adjective

1. Capable of giving out a deep, resonant sound.
• 1837, w, w:The French Revolution: A History Chapter Mercury de Breze, The Oath is redacted ; pronounced aloud by President Bailly, — and indeed in such a sonorous tone, that the cloud of witnesses, even outdoors, hear it, and bellow response to it.
2. Full of sound and rich, as in language or verse.
• AddisonThe Italian opera, amidst all the meanness and familiarity of the thoughts, has something beautiful and sonorous in the expression.
• E. EverettThere is nothing of the artificial Johnsonian balance in his style. It is as often marked by a pregnant brevity as by a sonorous amplitude.
3. Wordy or grandiloquent.

Related terms

• sonorant
• sonority
• sonorously
• sonorousness