Choose the Right Synonym for stentorian

loud, stentorian, earsplitting, raucous, strident mean marked by intensity or volume of sound. loud applies to any volume above normal and may suggest undue vehemence or obtrusiveness. loud shouts of protest stentorian implies great power and range. an actor with a stentorian voice earsplitting implies loudness that is physically discomforting. the earsplitting sound of a siren raucous implies a loud harsh grating tone, especially of voice, and may suggest rowdiness. the raucous shouts of drunken revelers strident implies a rasping discordant but insistent quality, especially of voice. the strident voices of hecklers

Did You Know?

The Greek herald Stentor was known for having a voice that came through loud and clear. In fact, in the Iliad, Homer described Stentor as a man whose voice was as loud as that of fifty men together. Stentor's powerful voice made him a natural choice for delivering announcements and proclamations to the assembled Greek army during the Trojan War, and it also made his name a byword for any person with a loud, strong voice. Both the noun stentor and the related adjective stentorian pay homage to the big-voiced warrior, and both have been making noise in English since the early 17th century.

Examples of stentorian in a Sentence

the professor's stentorian voice was enough to keep even the drowsiest student awake

Recent Examples on the Web The stentorian bass Franz-Josef Selig made a robust, good-natured Daland. — New York Times, "Review: A New ‘Flying Dutchman’ Makes Landfall at the Met Opera," 3 Mar. 2020 Unfortunately, Pressley’s stentorian affect detracts from the authenticity of the dialogue between Washington and his contemporaries, undermining Coe’s argument that the founders were people too, just like us. — Tatiana Schlossberg, New York Times, "What the History Books Won’t Tell You About George Washington," 29 Apr. 2020 His replacement as the Dutchman, Evgeny Nikitin, was monochromatic and stentorian, and his steely bass-baritone expressed none of the Dutchman’s anguish or mystery. — Heidi Waleson, WSJ, "Keelhauling Wagner," 4 Mar. 2020 On the eve of the game’s release, one fan stitched together a trailer, backed by a stentorian soundtrack, highlighting the variety of media that had been created. — Simon Parkin, The New Yorker, "The Video Game That Lets You Make Video Games," 19 Feb. 2020 Sadly, Roberto Alagna, as Samson, started out the night wobbly and stentorian, and despite some moments of ringing power, his tenor shredded audibly as the night progressed, concluding with a painful yelp. — Heidi Waleson, WSJ, "‘Samson et Dalila’ and ‘Aida’ Reviews: A New Direction Takes a Familiar Course," 1 Oct. 2018 Showerman is the least effective actor in the bunch, affecting a stentorian voice and officious manner that come across as parodic. — Donna Freedman, Anchorage Daily News, "Review: From screen to stage, ‘Little Mermaid’ expands on a beloved tale," 23 Oct. 2019 The transition to these new tones had been masked, so the tragic-hued change came as a gentle surprise, all the more effective for having being delivered without any obvious, stentorian announcement. — Seth Colter Walls, New York Times, "Review: A Pulitzer Sequel for Orchestra, Packed With Drama in Microcosm," 30 Mar. 2018 In his concurring opinion, the court’s newest justice dropped his usual folksy writing style for a more stentorian tone, one that evoked the stern language of his predecessor, Scalia. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Gorsuch Did Scalia Proud (If Not Trump)," 17 Apr. 2018

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