sound

25 synonyms and 4 antonyms for sound, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — A sensation perceived by the ear, caused by vibrations traveling through air or another medium.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

tone audio ring noise phone voice go legal heavy intelligent healthy good

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

resonance echo strait reasoned profound

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

reecho resonate vocalise vocalize fathom wakeless effectual levelheaded

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

A sensation perceived by the ear, caused by vibrations traveling through air or another medium.

“She heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway.”

tone audio resonance ring noise echo reecho resonate strait phone

Opposites

quiet silence stillness

2. verb

To produce a sound, or to give an impression through how something comes across.

“The alarm sounded at midnight.”

vocalise vocalize voice fathom go

3. adj

In good condition; healthy, solid, or well-founded.

“The bridge was found structurally sound after inspection.”

legal heavy wakeless effectual levelheaded intelligent reasoned healthy good profound

Opposites

unsound

How to use sound

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

sound asleep sound advice the sound of music sound like

Etymology

The "healthy/solid" and "strait of water" senses both trace to Old English words for "healthy" and a Germanic word for a narrow channel; the "noise" sense comes from a separate Latin root (sonus), making "sound" effectively three different words that merged in spelling.

Full origin of sound →

Frequently asked questions

What does “sound” mean?

The word “sound” means a sensation perceived by the ear, caused by vibrations traveling through air or another medium. In plain terms, depending on context: a noise, the act of making noise, "healthy/solid," or a narrow channel of water.

How do you pronounce “sound”?

“Sound” is pronounced SOWND (/ˈsaʊ̯nd/ in IPA).

How do you use “sound” in a sentence?

Here is “sound” used in a sentence: “She heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway.”

What is another word for “sound”?

Words with a similar meaning to “sound” include noise, echo, reecho and resonate.

What is the opposite of “sound”?

The opposite of “sound” — its antonyms — are quiet, silence and stillness.

What part of speech is “sound”?

Depending on how it is used, “sound” can be a noun, a verb and an adjective.

Where does the word “sound” come from?

The word “sound” comes from Latin.

Is “sound” a common word?

“Sound” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

What is the difference between sound and noise?

Sound is any sensation the ear perceives from vibrations travelling through a medium. Noise is a kind of sound — usually one that is unwanted, unpleasant, or random, like traffic or static. All noise is sound, but not all sound is noise; music and speech are sounds we generally welcome.

How does sound travel?

Sound travels as vibrations that ripple through a medium — air, water, or a solid — as waves of compression. The particles pass the energy along until it reaches your ear. Because it needs a medium, sound cannot travel through the vacuum of space, where there is nothing to carry the vibrations.

How is sound measured?

Sound is measured in two main ways. Loudness, or intensity, is measured in decibels (dB) — the higher the number, the louder the sound. Pitch, or frequency, is measured in hertz (Hz), showing how many vibrations occur each second. Together these describe how loud and how high or low a sound is.

People also searched

good go phone legal voice heavy ring healthy quiet noise audio silence

Nearby words

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