sonorous
adjective
sə-ˈnȯr-əs
Did you know?
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, is it sonorous? Don’t be thrown off by the subtle tweak in this classic conundrum—which usually ends with “does it make a sound?”—it’s still the same question. Sonorous, in its oldest sense, simply describes things that make a sound when struck (the word’s Latin ancestor, sonorus, is related to sonus, meaning “sound”). By this definition, felled firs, windblown willows, etc., are all sonorous. A desktop tapped by a pencil eraser wouldn’t normally be described as sonorous, however. The word is usually reserved for things that make a deep, loud, booming, or echoing sound—think timpanis (or toppling timber), not tables. Sonorous is also frequently used to describe sounds themselves, as well as voices, that are deep, loud, and pleasant. And as sonorous sounds often cause one to sit up and take notice, sonorous can also mean “imposing or impressive in effect or style,” as when describing particularly affecting speech or prose.
Examples of sonorous in a Sentence
Christopher C. Gorham
september 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
Ditto the auxiliary singers, particularly Greene, who paired a deep, sonorous bass range with enthusiastic dance moves that underlined the across-the-board camaraderie.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2025
On Pressing Onward, Freedia is creating her own religious experience of sorts — one that marries the powerful peaks and sonorous valleys of gospel with the irrepressible, relentless energy of bounce.
—Joe Lynch, Billboard, 23 June 2025
With his chiseled jaw, sonorous voice and bodybuilder’s frame, Lagree could be the love child of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Fabio Lanzoni.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sonorous
Cite this Entry
“Sonorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sonorous. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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sonorous
adjective
-ˈnȯr-
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