acoustic

adjective

acous·tic | \ ə-ˈküs-tik

variants: or acoustical \ -ti-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

This will be Lady Gaga's first solo album since 2016's Joanne, which polarized fans with its acoustic, stripped-down sound—a far cry from the splashy, electro-pop hits that made her a household name. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Lady Gaga's New Album: Everything We Know So Far," 13 Mar. 2019 The music is acoustic, with the country quotient increased, but this time appealingly varied—with fiddles and banjo, pedal steel and piano, horns and even, on several numbers, a small string ensemble, as appropriate. — Barry Mazor, WSJ, "‘What It Is’ by Hayes Carll Review: A New Direction, Yet Again," 12 Feb. 2019 These are among the behavioral biomarkers researchers have established using facial and acoustic analysis. — Sumathi Reddy, WSJ, "Does Your Smartphone Know if You’re Depressed?," 4 Apr. 2019 Finally, the guests will be treated to an intimate acoustic concert in Napoleon III’s lavish chambers. — Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, "Airbnb is Giving Away One Night's Stay Under the Louvre’s Glass Pyramid," 2 Apr. 2019 After all, the acoustic-inspired Joanne from 2016 came out of left field. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Lady Gaga Just Hit Back at Pregnancy Rumors With an Even Bigger Announcement," 13 Mar. 2019 After all, the acoustic-inspired Joanne from 2016 came out of left field. — Christopher Rosa, Allure, "Lady Gaga Slams Pregnancy Rumors, and Then Announces New Music," 13 Mar. 2019 As noted above, Amazon keeps these recordings to personalize the Alexa experience to your household and uses them to create an acoustic model of your voice. — Natt Garun, The Verge, "How to hear (and delete) every conversation your Amazon Alexa has recorded," 28 Feb. 2019 In a new video for Vogue, the actress dances to an acoustic rendition of the song at the Weylin in Brooklyn (one of the creative world’s favorite event spaces). — Vogue, "Watch Priyanka Chopra Dance to Nick Jonas’s Soulful Song, “Close”," 1 Dec. 2018

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