consonant

CEFRB1

/ˈkɒn.sə.nənt/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A speech sound made by stopping or narrowing the airflow.

  2. 02

    adjective

    In agreement or harmony with something.

Examples

  • The letter T is a common consonant.

  • This consonant tends to become voiced between vowels.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈkɑns.nənt/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A letter representing the sound of a consonant.

  2. Consistent, harmonious, compatible, or in agreement.

  3. A sound that results from the passage of air through restrictions of the oral cavity; any sound that is not the dominant sound of a syllable, the dominant sound generally being a vowel.

More examples

In context

  • What is your favorite consonant?

  • 1645-1650, James Howell, Epistolae Ho-Elianae consonant words and syllables

  • This essential right of the courts to be free of intimidation and coercion was held to be consonant with a recognition that freedom of the press must be allowed in the broadest scope compatible with the supremacy of order.

Antonyms

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Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English consonant or consonaunt, from Old French consonant, from Latin cōnsonāns (“sounding with”), from the prefix con- (“with”) + the present participle sonāns (“sounding”), from sonāre (“to sound”). The Latin is a calque of Ancient Greek σύμφωνον (súmphōnon).