SOUNDS Synonyms: 156 Similar and Opposite Words

sounds 1 of 4

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of sound

as in echoes

to continue or be repeated in a series of reflected sound waves the stranded hiker's cries for help sounded throughout the canyon

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Relevance

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as in seems

to give the impression of being the idea at least sounds plausible

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as in voices

to make known (as an idea, emotion, or opinion) a person who certainly isn't shy about sounding her opinions

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as in announces

to make known openly or publicly the grand opening of the region's newest and largest mall has been loudly sounded for months

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sounds

2 of 4

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of sound

as in plumbs

to measure the depth of (as a body of water) typically with a weighted line the pilot sounded the river to make sure we weren't in any danger of running aground

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as in plunges

to cast oneself head first into deep water a whale suddenly surfaced and then, just as suddenly, sounded

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surfaces

sounds

3 of 4

noun (1)

plural of sound

as in hearings

range of hearing wandered off, out of her parents' sight and sound

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sounds

4 of 4

noun (2)

plural of sound

as in channels

a narrow body of water between two land masses Long Island Sound is between Connecticut and Long Island, New York

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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 sounds

Verb

Playing music that sounds like nothing else in Western pop music, the duo has, at press time, racked up more than 15 million views on that video alone. —

Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 10 June 2026 If that sounds like your kind of scare, here are eight other liminal horror films to lose yourself in. —

Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 10 June 2026 Life on a yacht sounds glamorous—but imagine having to decorate one, even for people one adores? —

Mitchell Owens, Architectural Digest, 10 June 2026 Four months into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie’s mom, any lead sounds like a good lead. —

Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 10 June 2026 That is literally what Zuck sounds like. —

Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 10 June 2026 In an interview early last year, rising Atlanta rapper Tezzus made a prediction about the music industry that sounds more perceptive as time goes on. —

Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 9 June 2026 Building on this innovation, Arianna Mastali, a Georgia Tech PhD student, is developing an interactive wall that produces sounds elephants typically hear in the wild. —

Monique John, CBS News, 9 June 2026 In short, the voice sounds more like you than a generic robot. —

ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026

Noun

Her presence is heralded not by the sounds of howls, roars or clanking chains, but by the shutting of the door to her study, the scrape of her chair as it is pulled towards her desk, and the clanking of her type-writer keys. —

Literary Hub, 9 June 2026 Trump, who built a career as a real estate developer, has frequently touted the project, gushing over the sounds of jackhammers and excavation trucks. —

Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026 Like Muir, Lustmord’s Brian Williams creates harrowing, light-devouring music by digitally manipulating a vast library of sounds he’s collected via sampling and field recording. —

Brad Sanders, Pitchfork, 8 June 2026 The basis of this is broadcasting high and low sounds from exactly the same point, rather than in traditional speaker design where bass and treble come from a woofer and a tweeter spaced perhaps several inches apart. —

New Atlas, 8 June 2026 This season of Love Island USA is off to a somewhat shaky start, as full-volume wet kissing sounds gave way to what feel like steady platonic vibes from a lot of the couples. —

Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 8 June 2026 Some of the sounds are almost like Jackson Pollock clouds or dots or points that go through harmonic filters and microtonal processing. —

Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 8 June 2026 The gallery will envelop visitors — think rippling blue lights, ocean sounds and activity stations. —

Michael James Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2026 These sounds often occur when a partial blockage interferes with normal water flow. —

Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 6 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sounds

Verb

That guy selling records seems pretty cool.

— Nathan Diller, USA Today, 7 June 2026
The mid-tournament tweak seems to be working.

— Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 7 June 2026