as in noise
loud, confused, and usually inharmonious sound
the crowd decibels increased dramatically as the horses neared the finish line
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of decibels
The facility’s noise would be capped at 75 decibels, with a 50-foot buffer recommended to limit impacts to the surrounding community.
—
Karoline Leonard, Austin American Statesman, 9 Jan. 2026
Noise levels remain below 65 decibels (dB), keeping sessions quiet enough for home or shared spaces.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
Sixty decibels is equal to the sounds in an office.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Dec. 2025
The sirens chosen for the towers are intended to produce 75 decibels of noise inside a structure in order to wake people up.
—Jason Allen, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
The treadmill is nearly noiseless at 45 decibels — which is comparable to a refrigerator’s hum or light rain.
—Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
Denver’s fire code requires broadcasting all emergency, safety, and security announcements at volumes at least 15 decibels louder than the ambient sound.
—Bruce Finley, Denver Post, 25 Nov. 2025
Its 105 decibels of sound were plenty loud enough to carry over rapids without distortion and did crooning bluegrass singers and DJ’s justice alike thanks to its DSP tuning capabilities.
—Joe Jackson, Outside, 20 Nov. 2025
Dogs can hear sounds that are both much higher in pitch (up to 65,000 Hertz) and much quieter (as low as -15 decibels) than humans can, giving them extraordinary sensitivity to noises completely beyond our range.
—Clarissa Brincat, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2025
Karoline Leonard, Austin American Statesman, 9 Jan. 2026
Noise levels remain below 65 decibels (dB), keeping sessions quiet enough for home or shared spaces.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
Sixty decibels is equal to the sounds in an office.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Dec. 2025
The sirens chosen for the towers are intended to produce 75 decibels of noise inside a structure in order to wake people up.
—Jason Allen, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
The treadmill is nearly noiseless at 45 decibels — which is comparable to a refrigerator’s hum or light rain.
—Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
Denver’s fire code requires broadcasting all emergency, safety, and security announcements at volumes at least 15 decibels louder than the ambient sound.
—Bruce Finley, Denver Post, 25 Nov. 2025
Its 105 decibels of sound were plenty loud enough to carry over rapids without distortion and did crooning bluegrass singers and DJ’s justice alike thanks to its DSP tuning capabilities.
—Joe Jackson, Outside, 20 Nov. 2025
Dogs can hear sounds that are both much higher in pitch (up to 65,000 Hertz) and much quieter (as low as -15 decibels) than humans can, giving them extraordinary sensitivity to noises completely beyond our range.
—Clarissa Brincat, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decibels
Noun
-
With the game tied at three in the final minutes, the noise level on the field sounded like multiple 747s were inches away from your ears.—
Mac Engel
January 7,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Turns out, those crystal bowls and milk glass dishes—both of which made ample clinking noises—were perfect for alerting grandma that little ones were snagging candy before dinner.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
An onboard synthesizer manipulates a small set of core sounds to mimic everything from the roar of a jet plane to the flushing of a toilet through a little speaker in the Brick.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Jan. 2026
-
The people want to see Varang’s fierce roars!—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
3 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decibels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decibels. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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