stridency

noun

stri·​den·​cy ˈstrī-dᵊn(t)-sē How to pronounce stridency (audio)
plural stridencies
: the quality or state of being strident

Examples of stridency in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Dworkin, metonym for an outmoded Second Wave stridency? Sam Huber, The New York Review of Books, 26 Jan. 2023 So began a Bible lesson accompanied by rhetoric reflecting growing stridency among a segment of Christians convinced that the nation's Christian heritage is under siege and must be restored, that the government has overreached its authority, even that the presidential election was stolen. Jean Hopfensperger, Star Tribune, 6 Feb. 2021 The secret to her impressions was stridency, achieved by amplifying voices and characters almost to the point of absurdity. Dennis Romero, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2022 This stridency reflects the national mood toward fentanyl. Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 5 Dec. 2022 While Buchanan’s stridency displaced the GOP’s country club mores, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s brash demeanor and combative approach polarized Washington during the 1990s. Michael Bobelian, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2022 Despite near-constant expressions of gratitude for Western aid, his public statements can occasionally veer into stridency, annoying the Biden administration on more than one occasion. Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2022 The band added stridency to the song’s inherent mystery, Greene illuminating it with a marathon soprano sax solo (followed by guitarist Mike Moreno and pianist Aaron Goldberg with much shorter solos). Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2022 Some of these reactions were amplified because of the unique stresses of the early pandemic, but that alone cannot explain their stridency. Cal Newport, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stridency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stridency was in 1865

Dictionary Entries Near stridency

Cite this Entry

“Stridency.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stridency. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

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