lilt 1 of 2

Definition of liltnext
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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lilt

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lilt
Noun
Parker’s voice on the other hand has the natural lilt of conversation—her tone is sweet, warm, and soulful, a balance of airiness and gravity. Mark Richardson, Pitchfork, 15 Mar. 2026 Amy asks her and somehow Wilson delivers that line with a lilt that keeps it from sounding corny. Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Verb
The musical prose hums with different accents, most evidently with Milena’s quips in French and Enzo’s Levantine lilt. Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026 The album is a triumphant release that balances anger and grief and, at times, surprising joy, with Estrada’s bright, lilting soprano piercing through the veil of her pain. Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lilt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lilt
Noun
  • Another gripe for many is the American accents uniformly applied to these characters from Greek mythology when everyone knows that all the glorious empires of Hollywood speak exclusively in British accents.
    Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026
  • The Accents Every character in Nolan’s film not only has an American accent but does little to adjust their tone of voice.
    Marlow Stern, Variety, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • The minute-long clip, shared on June 10, shows Langley crooning the late '90s ballad while accompanying herself on piano.
    Edward Segarra, USA Today, 16 June 2026
  • The camera pans to Cody crooning while strumming his guitar throughout the video.
    Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026
Noun
  • So Travis Scott’s bard speak-sings to the suitors between heavy pounds of his staff, as Nolan uses the rapper’s cadence to help colloquialize this ancient tale.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 July 2026
  • Neither one tracks advanced running form metrics like cadence and stride length, which have become table stakes for modern smartwatches.
    Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 13 July 2026
Verb
  • Her distinctive voice has been Widowspeak’s emblem since the band first emerged, warbled like Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval over CB radio.
    Linnie Greene, Pitchfork, 10 June 2026
  • The track begins with Winter’s distinct vocals warbling and wobbling over a tender percussion groove.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 July 2025
Noun
  • That frequency is meant to drive gamma-wave activity in the brain, a rhythm tied to memory and cognition that weakens in people with dementia.
    Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 13 July 2026
  • Sinner expects a lack of rhythm and for Zverev to put their past aside and come out assertively.
    Ava Wallace, New York Times, 12 July 2026
Verb
  • In the fall, the workers trade in their pruning shears for knives sharp enough to skin a deer in minutes.
    Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 28 Nov. 2025
  • Today there’s a rich universe of supplemental Pynchon material ranging from prose only an English PhD could unpack, to sharp analysis that makes the experience of reading Pynchon communal and fun.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Increasingly, the crux of the debate around AI’s sustainability has been focused on data centers, which make the nebulous concept of AI very concrete with their massive, humming warehouses full of servers and huge energy requirements.
    Sasha Luccioni, Time, 3 July 2026
  • Project Bluestem Data centers emit humming sounds from generators, fans and other equipment.
    Alexa Newsom, Kansas City Star, 2 July 2026
Verb
  • McGill’s superbly nuanced calls, runs, and trills elicited commentary from a second audience, perched in the trees above—a colloquium of finches, towhees, titmice, kingbirds, juncos, and Eurasian collared doves.
    Alex Ross, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Musselwhite punctuated the music with his harmonica trills and moans while his right knee bounced in time with the rhythms.
    Kevin McKeough, Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Lilt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lilt. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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