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strident

2 syllables

Quick answer

As an adjective, strident means loud. As a noun, it means one of a class of s-like fricatives produced by an airstream directed at the upper teeth.

Meanings of strident

8 meanings

Loud; shrill, piercing, high-pitched; rough-sounding
“The trumpet sounded strident against the string orchestra.”
Grating or obnoxious
“The artist chose a strident mixture of colors.”
nonstandardVigorous; making strides
Conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry
“blatant radios”
“a clamorous uproar”
“strident demands”
Similar: blatant, clamant, clamorous, vociferous
Of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as ‘f’, ‘s’, ‘z’, or ‘th’ in both ‘thin’ and ‘then’)
Similar: fricative, continuant, sibilant, spirant
Being sharply insistent on being heard
“strident demands”
“shrill criticism”
Similar: shrill
Unpleasantly loud and harsh
Similar: raucous