Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SONOROUS
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pronounce
SONOROUS:
Several ways are correct. I say "SONN uh russ."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
A sonorous voice, like Morgan Freeman's, is rich, deep, velvety, and majestic.
The word sonorous has a very close synonym, resonant. See if you can turn resonant into its verb form: to reson___ is to affect people emotionally, as if echoing in their minds or hearts. Like Freeman's voice does. Makes me want to go rewatch The Shawshank Redemption.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
Our word "sonorous" comes from a Latin one meaning "to make a sound."
Literally speaking, something sonorous has a loud, full, deep, rich sound.
And figuratively speaking, something sonorous is grand and impressive, as if it's making a loud, full, deep, rich sound.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "his sonorous voice;" "The warning was sonorous."
Other forms:
The adverb is "sonorously."
For a noun, take your pick:
"sonority" (suh NORE uh dee),
"sonoriety" (SONN uh RYE uh dee),
"sonorousness" (SONN uh russ nuss),
or "sonorosity" (SONN uh ROSS uh dee).
how to use it:
Pick this formal, dignified, semi-common word when you need to strike a positive tone.
Talk about sonorous voices, speeches, statements, sounds, music, songs, singing, melodies, etc.
Because a deep voice is often masculine, "sonorous" most often describes the voices of men. But it doesn't have to. Here's David Wright for the Seattle Times: "Allyson Johnson does impressive work capturing the wide-ranging dialects and panoramic perspectives in 'Everfair'... I can't wait to hear her sonorous voice reading the sequel."
examples:
"Meanwhile, chaos already reigned in the yard...There was a sonorous boom from below and something huge whizzed past just a few inches away."
— Daniel José Older, Dactyl Hill Squad, 2018
"The study I would like to see... is one that examines every new, labor-saving invention and its associated decrement in physical activity, measured in calories. In other words: If you buy and use this device, you will expend, on average, this many fewer calories a day! This would work best with a sonorous announcer of the 'Tell them what they've won, Johnny!' variety."
— David L. Katz, US News & World Report, 1 August 2012
has this page helped you understand "sonorous"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "sonorous" without saying "booming" or "resounding."
try it out:
Like I mentioned above, Morgan Freeman is famous for his sonorous voice. So are other actors, like James Earl Jones, Patrick Warburton, Ian McKellen, and Orson Welles--and singers, like Josh Turner, Elton John, and Avi Kaplan. Avi's song "It Knows Me" is so beautifully sonorous.
Talk about a song that strikes you as beautifully sonorous.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for January is "Find the Missing Link."
In each chain of words, find the one that's missing from the middle. This missing link, according to a thesaurus, is a synonym of each word on its left and right. But as you'll see, the words on the left and right are most definitely not synonyms!
For example, if I give you "special → _____ → typical," then you answer, "peculiar," because sometimes "peculiar" means "special, different, odd," but other times it means "typical of this, specific to this, distinctively this."
To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Your answer might be different from mine but just as good. Enjoy!
Try this one today:
growl → _____ → explosion
review this word:
A. SHY and TIMID.
B. FAINT and HIGH-PITCHED.
C. STUDIOUS and METICULOUS.
2. According to Alison Flood at the Guardian, "_____ stories," audio readings that help people _____, are filled with sonorous language.
A. cardio .. work out
B. sleep .. fall asleep
C. mnemonic .. memorize facts
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Our word "sonorous" comes from a Latin one meaning "to make a sound."
Part of speech:
Pick this formal, dignified, semi-common word when you need to strike a positive tone.
"Meanwhile, chaos already reigned in the yard...There was a sonorous boom from below and something huge whizzed past just a few inches away."
Explain the meaning of "sonorous" without saying "booming" or "resounding."
Like I mentioned above, Morgan Freeman is famous for his sonorous voice. So are other actors, like James Earl Jones, Patrick Warburton, Ian McKellen, and Orson Welles--and singers, like Josh Turner, Elton John, and Avi Kaplan. Avi's song "It Knows Me" is so beautifully sonorous.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
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