acoustic

adjective

acous·tic | \ ə-ˈkü-stik

variants: or acoustical \ ə-ˈkü-sti-kəl

Definition of acoustic

1 : of or relating to the sense or organs of hearing, to sound, or to the science of sounds acoustic apparatus of the ear acoustic energy : such as

a : deadening or absorbing sound acoustic tile

b : operated by or utilizing sound waves

2 : of, relating to, or being a musical instrument whose sound is not electronically modified

Other Words from acoustic Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about acoustic

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Synonyms & Antonyms for acoustic

Synonyms

audial, audile, auditory, aural, auricular

Antonyms

nonauditory

Examples of acoustic in a Sentence

the acoustic properties of a room She loves listening to acoustic folk music. an acoustic performance of a rock-and-roll song

Recent Examples on the Web

Future Heights Executive Director Deanna Bremer Fisher said that some sections of Cedar-Lee were still without power Saturday night, although some venues improvised with acoustic music. — Thomas Jewell, cleveland.com, "Second microburst in 3 years ravages Cleveland Heights all over again," 17 Sep. 2019 Better still, use streaming to encourage kids to play acoustic instruments and make their own music to help save the planet. — Los Angeles Times, "Commentary: Classical streaming has arrived. How do the new services stack up?," 29 Aug. 2019 There will be acoustic music by Jay Kalk from the band The Church of Cash at 1 p.m. Saturday. — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, "Winding Trail Books to open near former Micawber’s location in St. Paul," 16 July 2019 Back in the field, Ortega is scanning through his radio channels, hoping to find something more exciting than jazz or tame acoustic guitar music. — Andrew Nicla, AZCentral.com, "Late hours, no pay, diminishing returns: Scouring the Arizona desert for black-footed ferrets," 10 July 2019 Fender’s Ten 5s distinguish themselves best when handling acoustic instruments and vocals, and the detail and airiness of their sound simply comes at the expense of earthshaking bass. — Vlad Savov, The Verge, "Fender Ten 5 review: all about that treble," 9 July 2019 Most of us would probably have never picked up an acoustic instrument. — Christy Fantz, The Denver Post, "Golden Road to Dead & Company after parties, late-night munchies," 5 July 2019 One of the best rooms for live acoustic music in this town. — Savannah Eadens, The Courier-Journal, "Say it isn't so! Wick's Pizza Parlor closes its Middletown location," 4 June 2019 If a miscarriage is shown at all, it's often set to sad acoustic music or otherwise overly dramatized. — Glamour, "We Need to Talk About the Miscarriage Scene in Fleabag," 17 May 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'acoustic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for acoustic

acoustic borrowed from Medieval Latin acousticus, acūsticus, borrowed from Greek akoustikós, from akoustós "heard, audible" (verbal adjective of akoúein "to hear," going back to Indo-European h₂kous-) + -ikos -ic entry 1; acoustical from acoustic + -al entry 1 — more at hear