as in accent
the attractive quality of speech or music that rises and falls in a pleasing pattern
There was a charming lilt to her voice. a tune with a lilt
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Recent Examples of lilt
Pete Hammond, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2025
Waltzing along the fine line between preciousness and profundity, Brion’s lilting piano theme perfectly echoes the tone of a beguiling romance that — by design — struggles to find a balance in its feelings.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2024
Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
The white grape Bayan Shira produces fresh, zesty, semi complex and easy drinking wines with bright acidity, juicy tropicals, minerality and sometimes a slightly honeyed mid palate—similar to a Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon blend but with more of a tangerine lilt.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lilt
Noun
Platt has assembled key creatives from his own Oscar-winning La La Land including songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who have provided some lively and lilting new tunes.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2025
Waltzing along the fine line between preciousness and profundity, Brion’s lilting piano theme perfectly echoes the tone of a beguiling romance that — by design — struggles to find a balance in its feelings.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2024
Verb
Wallen’s voice has an easy lilt that reminds me of someone distractedly practicing their golf swing in the sporting-goods aisle of a big box store.
—Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
The white grape Bayan Shira produces fresh, zesty, semi complex and easy drinking wines with bright acidity, juicy tropicals, minerality and sometimes a slightly honeyed mid palate—similar to a Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon blend but with more of a tangerine lilt.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lilt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lilt
Noun
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Mason, a second-generation Scottish immigrant who grew up in the United States, doesn’t speak with a British accent.—
Ron Hurtibise,
Sun Sentinel,
19 July 2025
-
With a blue upper and butter yellow accents, these shoes are bound to bring interest to your travel capsule wardrobe.—
Genevieve Cepeda,
Travel + Leisure,
18 July 2025
Verb
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Black Francis and Emma Richardson — who joined the band in 2024 — crooned the grungy, guitar heavy tune.—
Nikki McCann Ramirez,
Rolling Stone,
19 June 2025
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Since people started crooning her lyrics to pets, children, each other and the camera earlier this year, the song has been used in 17 million videos and racked up more than 27 billion views worldwide via the app, according to ABC News.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2025
Noun
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The tweets, a vile departure from Elmo’s often inspiring and motivational social media cadence, were sent on July 13 and promptly taken down.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
14 July 2025
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For organizations at the formative stages of their cyber resilience journeys, meeting once a month and then gradually reducing the cadence as the function matures can be effective.—
Phillimon Zongo,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Verb
-
The track begins with Winter’s distinct vocals warbling and wobbling over a tender percussion groove.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
8 July 2025
-
The famous John Williams fanfare that blasted Star Wars onto our screens had appreciably less impact than even a standard screen would now offer, let alone IMAX and Dolby Cinema premium offerings while at some parts of the film, the sound warbled a little, before returning to normal.—
Benny Har-Even,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
Noun
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The song fuses the best of two worlds, including Reik’s unmistakable Latin pop ballad with R&B touches and the folk and urban rhythms that distinguish the Mexican-American singer-songwriter.—
Luisa Calle,
Billboard,
18 July 2025
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Clearly, the league will want to get into a rhythm where all the deals start and end at basically the same time, so what comes out of what ESPN carried seems to favor a short-term deal.—
Maury Brown,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2025
Verb
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The Wolf & Shepherd Crossover Plain Toe Derby Shoes are $87 off and sharp enough for weddings or work trips.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
23 May 2025
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The world’s second-largest economy continues to face a range of challenges, from job insecurity among the younger generation to sharp downturns in the property sector, once a cornerstone of the country’s economic growth.—
Hassan Tayir,
CNN,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The brand was humming along nicely as a direct-to-consumer business, as the brothers built their own supply chain, sourcing leather that could be used on everything—from the original phone case to the bags and small leather goods, such as signature charms, that were added to the mix.—
Roxanne Robinson,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
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Baseball is humming but the playoffs are still off in the distance.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
11 July 2025
Verb
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There’ll probably be some cowbells, and there might be someone trilling in sultry Portuguese or a burst of wordless, stoic alpha-male grunts.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
26 Mar. 2025
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Her soft-focus voice floats over trilling mandolin picking and reserved fiddle.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
10 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lilt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lilt. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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