consonant

¹con·so·nant

adjective \ˈkän(t)-s(ə-)nənt\

Definition of CONSONANT

1

: being in agreement or harmony : free from elements making for discord

2

: marked by musical consonances

3

: having similar sounds <consonant words>

4

: relating to or exhibiting consonance : resonant

— con·so·nant·ly adverb

Examples of CONSONANT

1. <the temples and palaces of ancient Greece are among the most consonant buildings in architectural history>
2. <his gentle behavior is consonant with his expressed belief in pacifism>

Origin of CONSONANT

Middle English, from Latin consonant-, consonans, present participle of consonare to sound together, agree, from com- + sonare to sound — more at sound

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to CONSONANT

Synonyms

balanced, congruous, harmonious, eurythmic (or eurhythmic), harmonic

Antonyms

disharmonic, disharmonious, incongruous, inharmonic, inharmonious, unbalanced

Related Words

even, proportioned, regular, symmetrical (or symmetric); aesthetic (also esthetic or aesthetical or esthetical), artistic, becoming, elegant, graceful, tasteful; agreeable, felicitous, pleasant, pleasing, satisfying; coherent, cohesive, compatible, coordinated, correspondent, matched, matching; Apollinian, Apollonian

Near Antonyms

asymmetrical (or asymmetric), disordered, irregular, skewed, unequal, uneven, unsymmetrical; distasteful, graceless, inartistic, inelegant, tasteless, unaesthetic, unbecoming, ungraceful, unlovely; disagreeable, displeasing, dissatisfying, infelicitous, unfortunate, unpleasant, unsightly; clashing, conflicting, disunited, incompatible, uncoordinated

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

²consonant

noun

Definition of CONSONANT

: one of a class of speech sounds (as \p\, \g\, \n\, \l\, \s\, \r\) characterized by constriction or closure at one or more points in the breath channel; also : a letter representing a consonant —usually used in English of any letter except a, e, i, o, and u

Origin of CONSONANT

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin consonant-, consonans, from present participle of consonare

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Alphabet Terms

cuneiform, linear, minuscule, pictograph, rune, symbology, wedge

consonant

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any speech sound characterized by an articulation in which a closure or narrowing of the vocal tract completely or partially blocks the flow of air; also, any letter or symbol representing such a sound. Consonants are usually classified according to the place of articulation (e.g., palate, teeth, lips); the manner of articulation, as in stops (complete closure of the oral passage, released with a burst of air), fricatives (forcing of breath through a constricted passage), and trills (vibration of the tip of the tongue or the uvula); and the presence or absence of voicing, nasalization, aspiration, and other features.