Standard Lemma guide

sonorous

adj · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈsɒn.əɹ.əs/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /səˈnɔː.rəs/
  • US: /ˈsɑːn.ɚ.əs/
  • US: /ˈsoʊ.nə.ɹəs/
  • US: /səˈnɔrəs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: S AA1 N ER0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Capable of giving out a deep, resonant sound.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The highlight of the hike was the sonorous cave, which produced a ringing echo from the hiker’s shouts.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Full of sound and rich, as in language or verse.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He was selected to give the opening speech thanks to his imposing, sonorous voice.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Wordy or grandiloquent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Produced with a relatively open vocal tract and relatively little obstruction of airflow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, phonetics, phonology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

full and loud and deep

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • heavy sounds
  • a herald chosen for his sonorous voice

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: heavy

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sonōrus, from sonor (“sound”), early 17th century.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: звучен (zvučen) — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鏗鏘 /铿锵 (kēngqiāng) — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Czech: plně znějící — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Czech: zvučný — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Finnish: sointuva — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Finnish: soinnikas — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Māori: ponguru — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sonor — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sonor — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Polish: donośny — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Romanian: sunător — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Romanian: sonor — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Russian: зву́чный (zvúčnyj) — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Swedish: sonor — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Yakut: этигэн (etigen) — capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
  • Bulgarian: звънък (zvǎnǎk) — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Bulgarian: мелодичен (melodičen) — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Czech: zvučný — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Czech: sonorní — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Finnish: sointuva — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sonor — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sonor — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Polish: dźwięczny — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Russian: зву́чный (zvúčnyj) — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Swedish: sonor — full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
  • Bulgarian: високопарен (visokoparen) — wordy or grandiloquent
  • Finnish: mahtipontinen — wordy or grandiloquent
  • Finnish: ponteva — wordy or grandiloquent
  • Polish: górnolotny — wordy or grandiloquent