stentorian

adjective sten·to·ri·an \ sten-ˈtȯr-ē-ən \

Updated on: 27 Apr 2018

Definition of stentorian

: extremely loud

spoke in stentorian tones

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Examples of stentorian in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of stentorian from the Web

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
Mark Walters, cloaked in a cliched yet effective black leather trench coat, made a fearsome Don Pizarro, armed both with a knife and a stentorian baritone.

— jeremy eichler, BostonGlobe.com, "From darkness to light with Boston Baroque’s rousing ‘Fidelio’," 14 Apr. 2018
The stentorian bass Georg Zeppenfeld brought sad dignity to the scene when King Marke, who has been like a father to Tristan, is crushed by the young man’s betrayal with Isolde, who is betrothed to Marke.

— anthony tommasini, New York Times, "Review: Jonas Kaufmann Takes a Big Step Toward ‘Tristan’," 13 Apr. 2018
Langen gives #2 a tremulousness that’s equally capable of bursting into tears or cheering with a stentorian peal.

— lily janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, "Marin Theatre Company’s ‘The Wolves,’ about a girls’ soccer team, a shut-out win," 21 Mar. 2018
Lee brought a stentorian voice to the role, although early on sounded strained at points.

— theodore p. mahne, NOLA.com, "'Phantom of the Opera' revisits Saenger with fresh new production that maintains the magic," 19 Mar. 2018
More than 214 million people in 195 cities and territories heard God's call in Graham's stentorian voice and witnessed him deliver the Gospel — pure and uncritical — in person or by satellite links.

— cathy lynn grossman, USA TODAY, "Billy Graham reached millions through his crusades. Here's how he did it," 21 Feb. 2018
The gravelly colorings of the bass John Relyea’s stentorian voice were ideal for Hunding.

— anthony tommasini, New York Times, "Review: Restrained Wagner at the New York Philharmonic," 15 Feb. 2018
Whitman then begins the prologue, singing in phrases that shift between stentorian declamations and plaintive passages.

— anthony tommasini, New York Times, "Review: The Opera ‘Crossing’ Shows Why Whitman Matters Today," 4 Oct. 2017

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.

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.

First Known Use of stentorian

1605

in the meaning defined above

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stentorian Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of 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.